All's Fair in Love and War
by Ad-Astra-Per-Apsera
Summary: Sirius was always up for a bet. They made life far more interesting, and the extra money was always worth it. But sometimes, bet's don't always go as planned, and you can win more than you bargained for... SB/OC, JP/LE, RL/OC, PP/OC, plus various OC's too
1. I Just Don't Care

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, never have, never will...so don't sue me!_

**

* * *

**

**Chapter One**

_**It's not that I don't like him, I just don't care**_

"...did you see that Gary? I swear, that boy just disappeared into the wall!"

"Don't be stupid, how much have you had to drink? For Christ's sake, it's not even eleven yet!"

"I haven't been drinking! I swear, that tall boy with the glasses, he just walked through a wall!"

"You're an idiot".

A petite girl surveyed the scene before her, azure eyes sparkling with amusement. The two men, one of whom was vehemently protesting he was in fact sober as a judge, continued to quarrel as they made their way through the station. Dragging her gaze away from the men, the girl glanced around, before pushing a large trolley towards the very same wall the two men had been arguing about, and disappeared.

There it was. The Hogwarts Express, gleaming in all its scarlet glory, waited as the wild array of students bade goodbye to various family members and boarded, all the while puffs of smoke rising lazily into the air. Chattering girls squealed excitedly as they greeted their friends, guffawing boys attempted complicated handshakes and swapped crude jokes, owls hooted and cats meowed, and the occasional belch of a bull frog could even be heard. To Camille, the sound was music to her ears. As much as she enjoyed the summer holidays, she couldn't wait to get back to school, which could be considered strange, had this been a normal school.

But it wasn't a normal school, not in the slightest. This was a school for witches and wizards, a school of magic – a school Camille was going to miss terribly.

It was her last year as a student of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, her very last year before she was thrust into the real world, expected to live, work and survive on her own; and these days, even surviving was a hard task.

Shaking her dark hair out of her eyes in an attempt to rid herself of such morbid thoughts, Camille continued to push her trolley through the crowded platform, craning her neck for any sign of her friends. So far, no such luck, though she didn't expect to find them in the crowd anyway.

"Millie!"

Camille spun around to see a tall, willowy girl, with short blonde hair and brown eyes waving frantically, practically dragging her trolley along behind her. Millie chuckled, and waited with a smirk as the tall girl finally reached her.

Theresa Parr was quite a character. First and foremost, she was without a doubt the clumsiest person Camille had ever had the fortune of meeting. But she was a kind hearted soul, which was a rare thing to say, considering the other girls in their house.

"Hi, Theresa," Camille greeted, letting go of her trolley and embracing her friend. Theresa responded enthusiastically, a grin spread from ear to ear.

"What a nightmare," the blonde bushed her hair out of her dark eyes, "I never realised just how crowded this place got".

"And we've been going here, what...six year now?" Camille smirked, resuming pushing her trolley towards the train. Theresa rolled her eyes and followed Camille.

After hoisting their trunks onboard, and finding a suitable compartment, the girls chatted whilst awaiting the rest of their 'group'. The talked about their summers, which basically meant repeating everything they'd said in their letters. Camille explained that her parents and older brother had worked most of the holidays, leaving her relatively alone and severely bored. Theresa was the same, however as her parents were Muggles, their jobs were quite different.

"...so Christophe finally moved out this summer, at last," Camille added darkly. Although Camille and Christophe were close, it was plain to see the siblings had gotten rather sick of each other since they'd both progressed to adulthood. Theresa, who was an only child, was lucky enough not to have to endure such a thing.

Theresa was about to reply when the door to their compartment slid open, and three girls entered. The first, was a tall, freckled girl, with light brown hair and matching eyes. She had thin face, and pointed features; not a girl to be messed with. Trailing behind her, were too petite girls, one with silvery blonde hair and grey eyes, the other, a fiery red head with emerald green eyes the rest of the girls envied terribly. Mary MacDonald, Isla Hudson and Lily Evans. The group made up the best friends Camille had ever known.

"Hullo fellow Gryffindors," boomed Mary, collapsing into a seat next to Theresa after stowing away her trunk and owl. Behind her, Isla and Lily too put away their things, Lily rushing over to Camille with a large grin on her face.

"I know, I know, little miss Head Girl," chuckled Camille, eyeing the silvery badge proudly, "Lils is all grown up".

"Can you believe it!" flushed the red head, her eyes bright with excitement, "Mum and dad were so happy, Petunia almost threw a fit though".

"Did we expect any less?" Camille quirked a dark eyebrow, causing Lily to half frown, half smirk.

"She hasn't been _that_ bad, spent most of the summer with her boyfriend...Vernon, I think his name was".

Camille pulled a face, "_Vernon_? Even his name sounds revolting; let me guess, a huge, beast of a man with the same ideals as dear Petunia?"

Lily scowled, "Got it in one".

"Are we talking about Dursley?" asked Isla, turning away from Theresa and Mary, "Lils, show her the picture".

Camille's eyes widened, "We have pictures? Lemme' see!"

Lily rolled her eyes and pulled out a small, immobile Muggle photograph. Camille gagged.

"Petunia is going out with _that_? Are you serious?"

"Nope, I am".

Immediately, Isla, Theresa and Mary began to giggle, whilst Lily groaned and closed her eyes with a pained expression. Camille merely shook her head at the highly overused pun, and turned to see the culprit.

"Even you know that joke has run its course," she said dryly.

Sirius Black. Charming ladies man of Hogwarts, proud Gryffindor, Marauder and blood traitor, or so he had proclaimed himself to be. With casual elegance, everlasting charm and a mischievous demeanour that only added to his appeal, Camille could reason that his description of himself was probably true. He was like marmite, as Lily had once said, you either loved him (as many a witch did) or hated him (as Lily and any ex girlfriends did). Camille, well, it wasn't that she hated Sirius, or even disliked him...she just didn't care about him.

Behind him, stood a tall boy with round rimmed glasses, the boy Camille suspected the two men were arguing about on the platform. With messy, raven black hair and 'irresistible' self confidence, James Potter was a leader of sorts of his little group, the one they all looked up to, admired and aspired to be, well, little Peter Pettigrew did anyway.

Peter peeked his head around Sirius, his watery blue eyes surveying the girls intently. He wasn't as good looking or charming as James or Sirius, not as smart, or funny, or even noticeable, but Camille would be damned if there was a better liar out there. His excuses for getting he and his friends out of trouble were the stuff of legends, he was just as important as the others, it seemed.

Last, but certainly never least, was the tired, yet charming Remus Lupin. Tall, with light hair and matching eyes, it was the mystery of Remus that made him quite a catch. Nobody could quite figure him out. He was a prefect, extremely smart, a bit bookish, some would say. But the mischievous sparkle in his eye Camille often noticed told her he wasn't as innocent as many believed him to be.

Together, the four boys made up the greatest trouble making effort ever to have graced the proud halls of Hogwarts; the Marauders.

Everyone loved the Marauders, heck; even Camille found their jokes to be humorous. Everyone, except a very annoyed looking Lily Evans. Her eyes had narrowed, her chest had puffed out slightly and her hair seemed to double in volume. There was, however, a very good reason for that, and Camille suspected it was about to make its presence known.

"Evans," James Potter stepped forward, bowing slightly, "Looking as beautiful as ever".

Camille exchanged a knowing look with Mary, and the both braced themselves for the barrage of insults that was sure to come.

The waited, and waited...but it never came.

"Uhh...Lily," Camille touched Lily's shoulder, causing her to jump suddenly. Her eyes were wide, clouded with disbelief, and staring at...James Potter's chest?

Camille followed her line of sight, and gasped.

"Incroyable!"

Sitting proudly against James Potter's red jumper, was an identical shiny silver badge to Lily's, with the letters H.B gleaming merrily back at them.

"No...no...this can't be...oh dear Lord," Lily clapped her hand to her forehead, looking positively faint. Around her, four girls gaped incredulously at James, none of them capable of speech right at that moment. Suddenly, Mary began to laugh.

"James, stop fooling around and give Remus his badge back".

Camille let out a shaky laugh, and glanced at Lily, who was starting to regain some colour to her face. Of course, James must have borrowed the badge to scare Lily.

James smirked, leaning casually against one wall of the compartment.

"Now why would I go and do a silly thing like that? Come on Evans, we have a prefect meeting".

Lily quickly paled once more, mouthing wordlessly at James. Camille's eyes widened once again, and Mary quickly stopped laughing.

"This...no...this is a joke," Lily said, more to herself than to her friends, "Who...who in their right mind would make _you_ Head Boy?"

James clapped his hand to his heart and feigned a look of hurt, "Evans, why so mean. I worked damn hard for this badge".

Beside him, Sirius and Peter sniggered, and Remus rolled his eyes with a hint of a smile. Lily sputtered, huffed, puffed and groaned, clearly unable to form coherent sentences. Camille merely continued to gape at James, vaguely aware of a pair of eyes watching her.

"Right, come on," James reached out and grabbed Lily's wrist, dragging her to her feet, "Our loyal subjects await," and without another word, James dragged a stunned Lily from the compartment. Sirius quickly claimed Lily's vacated seat, sniggering.

"Oh...he is going to pay dearly for that one," sounded Isla, a look of disbelief still marring her pixie like features, "Does Dumbledore want him hexed?"

"No idea," Sirius shrugged, kicking his feet up and resting them on the seat opposite, "Prongs' always had a death wish, if I'm honest," he glanced at Camille, "Looking lovely as ever, Millie".

Camille started, and frowned at Sirius. She wracked her brains, thinking of the last time Sirius had ever addressed her by her nickname. He hadn't...ever.

"Uhh...alright," she said awkwardly, still frowned. She looked to Remus, "Let's go, someone needs to be there to collect any limbs James has lost".

The girls sniggered, and bade goodbye to Camille as she and Remus left the compartment. Remus was perhaps the only Marauder she was remotely close to, more than likely because he was the only Marauder who talked any sense.

"So, you're replacing Lily this year?" Remus commented as they dawdled through the train halls. Camille nodded with a grin.

"Something my dear brother could never achieve, suffice to say, the parents were proud".

Remus chuckled, running a hand through his light brown hair. He looked rather tired, and Camille swore she could see a hint of grey in his shiny locks.

"Are you alright Remus?" she asked, eyeing him concernedly.

Remus started a little, and nodded quickly, "Fine. Just feeling a bit rough, had to be up early this morning," he chuckled nervously, his eyes averting Camille's. Camille nodded slowly, though was thoroughly unconvinced. This wasn't something new, Remus had been ill quite often for as long back as she could remember. It was only out of respect that she didn't pry.

"So, you'll have to give me the low down on all of the prefect stuff, I'm afraid I didn't pay much attention when Lily rambled on about it," Camille grinned cheekily, causing Remus to chuckle.

"There isn't much to it, taking away points, 'turfing' Sirius out of his favourite broom closets after hours, making sure Snape stays in line..." he trailed off at the giggling of Camille.

"I wouldn't let Lils hear you say that, she may think Snape is a prat, but she's still pretty sore about any 'Sev bashing'".

Remus smiled, and shrugged, "After six years of it it's a hard habit to break".

Camille rolled her eyes, and pushed open the door to the prefect's compartment. Lily was sitting, her arms and legs crossed and a look of utter disgust on her face. Beside her, James was grinned smugly, and threw a thumbs up to Remus. Remus and Camille exchanged exasperated looks, and took the two empty seats near the door.

Camille only really half listened to Lily explaining the various roles required of a prefect. She supposed she should have listened, but really, Remus had probably just summed it all up. No doubt the Slytherins would be gunning for her more than usual now that she had somewhat authority.

"...also, the fifth years prefects will need to show the first years around for the first week of term. That means escorting them to breakfast, their first lessons, finding them for lunch and dinner and such. I'll give you all a copy of each houses first year timetables so you know where you need to be," Lily glanced back down at the sheet of parchment in her hands, "Umm...I think I've covered just about everything...patrols...yep...point taking...yup...curfews...yup...yeah, I think that's it," she smiled brightly, and Camille showed a thumbs up, which Lily seemed grateful for.

"Actually, Lily," started James, standing up beside her. Lily growled audibly, and turned to face him.

"Yes?" she said through gritted teeth.

"As Head Boy and Girl, we will be required to sort out the end of year ball for the seventh years," he winked at Lily, who growled again, "So, that means we'll need suggestions and the sort, so we can stock up on firewhisky –"

"No," Lily cut across, "Don't listen to him, there'll be no firewhisky. All right, I need fifth and sixth years to patrol the corridors for a couple of hours, make sure no one's acting up. Do it in pairs, and come and find me or...James...if anything happens".

Lily looked thoroughly annoyed at having to use James' first name, and collapsed into her seat as the other prefects began to file out of the compartment. Camille hurried over to Lily, grinning.

"You did great, Minister for Magic in the making," grinned Camille. Lily smiled weakly, running a hand through her hair.

"I can't believe I'll be working with Potter all year," Lily turned pleading eyes to Camille, "Hex him badly for me, so he has to be home schooled".

Camille snorted, and rolled her eyes, "I'm not hexing anyone," she narrowed her eyes as Snape passed them, "Not yet at least".

Lily seemed to miss the comment, as her head was now in her hands.

"Thanks for giving us the train ride off though, Lil," she continued. Lily raised her head, and smiled.

"This is the last time we'll do this, it'll be better if we're all together".

"Right you are Lily my sweet," sounded James from his seat next to Remus, "All the Gryffindors spending the last trip to Hogwarts together".

"I _meant_," Lily seethed, "The girls. Sod off Potter; I'm not in the mood".

James seemed to falter a little, but only for a moment. He adopted his most confident look, and stood up.

"You know what Evans, I'm not going to wait around forever," he started for the door, then glanced back, "You don't know what you're missing out on".

Lily gaped after James, her brow furrowing deeper and deeper. Remus made a small coughing noise, then hurried from the room.

"Why...that little...little...how does he think he is?!"

Camille sighed, and patted Lily's arm sympathetically. After six years of arrogant comments from James Potter, she'd thought Lily would be used to it. Perhaps her reactions were more telling than they'd first thought.

~*~

Once Camille and Lily reached their compartment, it became apparent the boys had no intention of leaving them in peace. They made themselves quite comfortable, taking the vacated seats of Theresa and Mary, who had gone to visit their respective boyfriends for awhile. Whilst Camille and Isla weren't particularly fussed whether the boys were there, Lily seemed at her wits end already. James wasn't asking her out, as he normally did, but kept making comments which were obviously about her. Even Camille was starting to grow a little angry; it seemed James had been quite angered by Lily's brush off in the prefect's compartment.

However, Camille couldn't stay annoyed for long, for something far more interesting seemed to have cropped up. Isla Hudson was blushing. Camille glanced over at Lily, who was immersed in conversation with Remus, and quickly slid into the seat next to her blonde friend.

"Why the red face?" she whispered with a smirk. Isla jumped, not having noticed Camille there, and reddened further.

"What do you mean?" she hissed, her eyes averted downwards to the book in her lap. Camille quirked an eyebrow.

"Never mind, you were blushing, and I was curious as to why". She glanced over at the boys, frowning when she noticed James and Sirius seemed to have disappeared.

"Where did the trouble makers go?" she called to Peter, who was sucking away absently on a lollipop. Peter shrugged, and picked up a box of Bertie Botts every flavour beans.

"I'll give you five galleons if you eat the whole box".

Camille frowned, eyeing the box warily.

"Show me the coins and you have a deal".

Several minutes (and plenty of gagging on Camille's part later), thudding footsteps and childish laughing could be heard. Camille and Isla exchanged confused glances, and watched as James and Sirius tumbled into the compartment, laughing their heads off. Lily turned from her conversation with Remus, and frowned.

"What have you done?"

The boys ignored her, still laughing, and began whispering amongst themselves. Then, there was a crash, a shout, and a stream of curses. The boys burst into even louder fits of laughter, doubled up and red faced.

"I...can't...believe...he...fell for...that..." gasped James, clutching his side. Sirius seemed incapable of actually speaking, merely gesturing wildly with his hands, which only further caused James to laugh harder. James wiped a tear from his eyes, and turned to Remus and Peter, who were watching them expectantly. Ignoring the growing redness of Lily, James spread his arms and proclaimed...

"Boys, the Marauders final year had truly begun!"

* * *

_A/N: And there's the first chapter to my very first fan fiction story! Well, what do you think? Any good? I hope so, I've enjoyed writing this, the ideas are certainly flowing for this story. Read, review, and enjoy! It'll make me ever so happy :)_

_Happy fan ficcing!_


	2. You're French?

_Disclaimer: See Chapter One._

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Two**

"_**You're French?"... "And you're an idiot"**_

The train slowed to a halt, jerking slightly when it finally came to a standstill. Lily had managed to get rid of the boys half an hour before, giving the girl's time to quickly change and enjoy some peace. Whatever had caused the crash and the shout, the boys weren't divulging, and frankly, Camille wasn't sure if she even wanted to know.

Lily disappeared to usher the first years towards Hagrid, leaving Camille, Mary, Theresa and Isla to find a carriage. Luckily, they were quite some way in front of the thicket of the crowd, and clambered into one of the first carriages, closely followed by Sirius, Remus and Peter. Camille was perplexed as to why they were there; saying as neither James nor Lily were amongst them.

"Budge up Millie," said Sirius, squeezing between she and Theresa. Camille frowned at the boy crushing her against the side of the carriage. Twice in one day he'd used her nickname; what was he up to?

The carriage ride was uneventful, as usual. The boys spent most of the time speaking in hushed whispers, the girls, chatting amongst themselves. Camille spent the entire time watching in amusement as Isla's eyes kept flickering towards the boys, and she wondered idly who the object of her affections was.

Ran began to spatter the windows of the carriage, the splash of puddles sounding, and the rumble of thunder closing in. The weather was simply awful; it actually hadn't been this bad for quite some time. Grumbling to herself, Camille jumped down from the horseless carriage as it stopped, pulling her robes up over her head and sprinting for the entrance. Unfortunately, sprinting in mud and puddles wasn't the best idea.

Camille cried out in shock as she slipped, her arms swinging wildly around her to find something to grab onto. A pair of steady, strong arms wrapped around her waist, stopping her just as she began to fall. The arms never left her as whoever caught her steered her into the school before she got too wet.

Shaking her damp hair out of her eyes and wringing out the bottom of her robes, Camille turned to thank the person who had caught her, and was rather shocked to find a pair of stormy grey eyes twinkling at her amusedly.

"Sirius?"

The taller boy nodded, droplets of water dripping from the ends of his shaggy black hair. Camille frowned, but quickly amended this when he quirked an eyebrow.

"I...uhhh, thanks," she straightened up, "Thank you for, well...for catching me, I suppose," she trailed off, her frown deepening for a reason even she couldn't figure out. Sirius smiled slightly.

"No problem," he glanced down, "You're making puddles, Filch'll be after you blood".

Before she could say anything, Sirius whipped out his wand and performed a drying spell. Camille felt a friendly warmth spread through her, from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. She smiled gratefully as Sirius performed the spell on himself.

"Well," Camille found it quite odd she couldn't find anything to say, but then again, all he had really done was stop her from getting wetter than she already had been. Shaking her head, she gestured towards the Great Hall.

"Sorting," she mumbled. A chuckled sounded from Sirius, and he held out his hand gallantly.

"Ladies first".

Camille opened her mouth to respond, but once again couldn't think of anything remotely interesting to say. Instead, she nodded, and hurried into the hall, a smirking Sirius Black following close behind.

The hall looked as cheerful as ever, extra so it seemed. The usual candles flickered brighter than usual, the four house banners and the Hogwarts crest seemed bolder and more eye catching. Camille wondered if it had anything to do with recent events in the wizarding world, and whether Dumbledore was trying to boost morale in a subtle, yet noticeable way.

The four house tables were polished to perfection, as always, the golden plates, goblets and cutlery gleaming in the candle light. High above, the enchanted ceiling flashed and crackled to match the weather outside, though it seemed far more inviting than actually being in the midst of the real thing. As the students filed in, Camille spotted Lily already seated, and looking particularly grouchy. Probably because James Potter was seated opposite her. The dark haired girls made a beeline for Lily, hoping she could distract her and get her in a pleasant mood before the feast. Out of all of the girls, Camille was probably closest to Lily, having been the one to comfort her in fifth year after the 'incident', as they liked to call it.

"Lils, how did you get up here so quick?" Camille asked, taking a seat next to the red head. Lily merely shrugged, her eyes averted towards the teachers table. Shrugging it off, Camille scanned the hall and spotted Isla, Theresa, Mary, Remus and Peter wandering in, pointing their wands at each other to dry themselves off. Sirius Black had already taken a seat next to James, and the two were now engaged in a heated discussion about Quidditch.

Both she and Lily spun around in their seats when raucous laughter could be heard. Standing in the entrance hall, a _very_ annoyed looking Severus Snape glared over at the Gryffindor table, his normally greasy hair standing on end, a vibrant shade of red and gold.

"So that's what they were up to," muttered Camille, the corners of her mouth twitching. Beside her, Lily made a growling noise, her eyes narrowing considerably. She turned to James and Sirius, who weren't bothering to hold in their laughter.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor," she hissed, causing the boys to stop laughing. James and Sirius exchanged amused looks, and James cleared his throat.

"Can't take points off me, Evans, I'm Head Boy".

Lily quirked an eyebrow, and smirked.

"Thirty points, from Black, and detention...one week".

Sirius rolled his eyes, and snorted.

"That's the best you can come up with love? I'm disappointed Lilyflower, really, I am".

"And no Hogsmeade for a month!"

Sirius paled. If there was one thing he hated, it was missing Hogsmeade. Hogsmeade equalled dates, and dates, Sirius Black could not live without.

The tall boy put on his best 'puppy dog' look, pouting his lower lip and widening his eyes.

"But Lilyflower, what will the girls do without me?" he batted his eyelashes, causing Mary and Theresa to giggle. Camille snorted, but for an entirely different reason.

Lily merely rolled her eyes, and turned to the front of the hall, where the sorting was about to begin. Sirius continued to watch Lily for a moment, before turning to James and whispering something in his ear. James nodded slowly, and grinned, then whispered back. Camille was strongly reminded of the second year girls who often whispered like this, and started to chuckle.

"Problem, Bellegarde?"

Camille watched James for a moment, then shrugged.

"You're whispering like me and Lily used to in second year".

James shot Camille a withering look, and turned back to Sirius, who, to Camille's utter confusion, was smirking, presumably at what she had just said.

Now, Camille had not always found Sirius to be unworthy of her attention. In fact, Camille had had quite a thing for the handsome boy back in her third year. Of course, she had never told anybody, at the time it seemed just about everyone had a thing for Sirius 'the ladies man' Black. Over time, it had disappeared, and rather than become friends with him, she had simply let the knowledge that he existed slip from conscious thought. She reasoned that may sound a little mean, but honestly, Sirius had never given her the time of day; not until that morning on the train.

After what seemed like hours, and many grumblings of hungry stomachs, the sorting came to a close. The new first years had taken their seats, anxiously glancing around and receiving encouroging smiles from Lily. It was then, that Professor Albus Dumbledore took the stage to begin the feast.

"Welcome," he boomed, his silver beard gleaming merrily, "To another year at Hogwarts. Welcome to your new school, to our first years, and welcome back to our regulars! I have only a few quick announcements, which you are free to tune out from if you wish".

There was a murmur of chuckles by several of the students, and Sirius and James seemed to take their headmasters words to heart.

"Firstly, as always, the Forbidden Forest is exactly that! Forbidden. Do not, for you own sakes, enter the forests, I'm afraid I will not be content for you to ruin my evening tea having me come and rescue you from such a place".

More sniggers, and many of the first years had paled considerably.

"Secondly, Mr Filch has reminded me that the list of banned objects is still available to those who wish to read it in his office, and has also informed me that he 'forgot' to dust the trophy room over the summer. Be on your best behaviour, or your detentions will be spent ridding said room from months of dirt and dust, which to me, seems to be quite a lot".

The old professor glanced at Sirius and James, and Camille could have sworn he winked, ever so slightly.

"I do believe that is all I have to say. I'm sure you are all hungry, I know in fact Mr Pettigrew's stomach has made quite a fuss throughout my speech. Enjoy!"

Peter's face reddened, James, Sirius and Remus all sniggering. This was interrupted, however, when the once empty plates before them filled with delicious meals and mouth watering treats. Camille grinned at the food, and began grabbing a bit of everything. The din in the hall grew louder and louder as the students got comfortable.

"I'll probably have to stay behind after the feast," Lily began, piling sausages onto her plate, "You can wait if you like".

Camille swallowed a mouthful of chicken, and shook her head.

"Nah, I promised mum I'd write a letter before I went to bed, I'll get that done while you're away".

Lily nodded, and turned back to her meal. Beside Camille, Isla and Theresa were discussing the absence of several students.

"Mark Harris and his family moved, I heard," Theresa was saying, "My dad knows his dad. Apparently they left for France".

"Shame, he was a nice fellow. I had ancient runes with him," commented Isla, "Mind you, I reckon if my mum knew what was going on she'd do the same".

"My mum almost did," Camille said darkly, "Back in fourth year, after the attack on Tinworth. She even called Beauxbatons, see if they had any places".

"You never told us that," said Mary sharply from opposite Isla, "She was really going to move you?"

Camille nodded, "Me and my brother, She was going to send us to live with my grandparents back in Bayonne".

"Wow," breathed Isla, "I'm glad my parents are muggles, they haven't got a clue".

"Mine neither," commented Lily, "They're not going to either, its better off they don't know anyway".

"My mum and dad would never leave," said James proudly, butting into the conversation, "Dads an Auror, he's fighting those idiots everyday".

Lily glanced at Camille, and rolled her eyes. They'd had the 'my dads a hero' speech from James almost daily since second year. It had become quite tiring, even though Mr Potter was a hero, in most respects.

"Wait a minute," Sirius suddenly spoke up, his eyes boring into Camille's. The chattering stopped, and Camille tilted her head quizzically.

"You're French?"

Remus slapped a hand to his forehead, James spat out a mouthful of pumpkin juice and Theresa began to choke of her mashed potato. Camille quirked an eyebrow, and shook her head.

"And you're an idiot," she smiled sweetly, and turned back to her meal.

~*~

Sirius Black wasn't an idiot. Okay, sometimes he made inappropriate comments that made even Peter look like a genius, and he wasn't renowned for his tact, but he was a bright boy, his school marks probed that. He certainly wasn't an idiot.

So he didn't know Camille was French, big deal! She didn't have an accent to prove it, and fair enough, her name wasn't a common English name, but he was named after a star for Christ's sake; how was he supposed to know.

He'd been called an idiot many a time, but for some reason, this had gotten to him. He wasn't an idiot...he just didn't hang on Camille bloody Bellegarde's every word.

As far back as he could remember, Sirius had been labelled. Most of the time, he didn't mind it. Ladies man; yes, he was a fan of the ladies. Troublesome Marauder; yes, he was a troublesome Marauder. Blood traitor; yes, and he was ruddy well proud of it. But idiot? No, Sirius wasn't an idiot...he was Sirius Black! Extraordinaire!

"You alright mate?"

Sirius was snapped from his reverie by James, who had just returned from his meeting with Dumbledore about various Head Boy duties, and was now changing into his sleep pants.

Sirius nodded, plastering a smile to his face.

"Back at Hogwarts, Prongs. Why wouldn't I be alright?"

James eyed his friend strangely, then shrugged, and turned back to his trunk. Sirius pulled off his shirt, quickly changed into his shorts and slipped into bed. He crossed his arms behind his head, lying flat on his back, and remembered the small conversation he and James had partook in aboard the Hogwarts express.

_James and Sirius stowed away their trunks, James laughing at a joke Sirius had just told. They were the best of friends, he and James...in fact, they were more like brothers. James had been the first friend he'd made at school, the first person he'd told about his thoughts on his family, the first person he'd turned to when he'd ran away from home. James, he was always first and foremost, in Sirius' eyes._

_The two boys sat down and awaited Remus and Peter, who would hopefully be arriving any moment. They had quite a year ahead to plan, after all._

"_I saw Lily over the summer," James commented, resting his feet on the opposite seat, "Her hair's gotten longer"._

_Sirius snorted, "Her hair? You were looking at her hair?"_

_James scowled, and chucked an empty chocolate frog wrapper (the boys had pockets full of the sweets from home) at Sirius, deflected it easily with his fist._

"_I'm serious Padfoot, she looks really good. She was in Diagon Alley with Camille and Isla"._

_Sirius nodded, glancing at the doorway of the compartment._

"_Did you talk to her?"_

_James shook his head, "Didn't have time. Your owl decided to attack me and deliver that all important letter telling me you were coming to live with me"._

"_Best letter you've ever gotten," grinned Sirius, ignoring the pang in his chest, "Mind you, I've lived there since second year, if I'm honest"._

"_That you have," James fell silent, a frown crossing his face._

"_Padfoot...do you think Lily ever will go out with me?"_

_Sirius glanced away from the window towards James, looking slightly shocked. That question was definitely a first._

"_Dunno mate, you tell me. You're always the one banging on about how you're meant to be together, and it's only a matter of time"._

_James scowled, "You know what I mean. From an outsiders perspective, reckon I've got a chance?"_

_Sirius felt the corners of his mouth twitch. Poor Prongs, he really meant it._

"_At the moment mate, no. I think you touched a raw nerve after fifth year"._

_James slumped in his seat, his scowl deepening._

"_I bet you me and Evans are together by the end of the year"._

_Sirius quirked an eyebrow, and smirked, "How much?"_

_James grinned, and paused for a moment, looking thoughtful._

"_Twenty galleons"._

_Sirius snorted, and shook his head._

"_Thirty says she's killed you by the end of the year"._

_James shot Sirius a withering look, and held out his hand, "Alright, thirty galleons says Lily's going out with me by the end of the year, and, she loves me"._

_Sirius took James' hand a shook it roughly, "You, my friend, are on. No chance, Prongs. No offence, but Evans is too stuck up her own arse to go out with you"._

_James sat back, smirking, "We'll see. Alright, let's do you"._

_Sirius raised his eyebrows, "Why Prongs, and I thought you didn't swing that way. I'm flattered"._

"_Sod off," James rolled his eyes, "No, lets make a bet for you. It'll make the year more interesting"._

_Sirius shrugged, lounging lazily in his seat._

"_I bet you can't go without a girl for more than a month"._

_Sirius snorted, "Easy, come Prongs, challenge me a little"._

_James laughed, then rubbed his chin with his hand. The pair were silent for a moment, before James snapped his fingers and pointed at Sirius._

"_I bet you can't last the entire year with just one girl"._

_Sirius sat up a little straighter. This was certainly interesting._

"_And just what is that supposed to mean? You don't think I can hold a real relationship?"_

_James shook his head, "Nope. Come off it Pads, what's the longest you've stayed with a girl? Two months? Two and a half, at the most?"_

_Sirius rolled his eyes, "Still easy, there's plenty of girls would love to make an honest man of me," he grinned a perfect grin, "You're going to lose, my friend"._

_James smirked, and leant forward, speaking in a quiet voice._

"_Not if I pick the girl"._

And so he had. James had picked a girl Sirius rarely thought of, spoke to, or even took an interest in. A girl he knew of, but didn't know. A girl he'd noticed, but never really noticed. A girl who now thought him a complete idiot.

He was going to have his work cut out for him, that much was sure.

* * *

_A/N: And there's chapter two! Thank's to **theflyingbird** for reviewing the last chapter, I'm glad you liked it :). Thank you also to those who read the first chapter, though a review would make me extra happy =D! Anyway, on with the show. Read, review, and enjoy! _


	3. A Dog?

_Disclaimer: See Chapter One._

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Three**

_**A dog?**_

The first day of school was always a hectic one. Most students, not used to the early morning, were either late or half asleep when they finally arrived to their lessons, and breakfast was always a quiet affair. This was true for the Gryffindor girls, who had spent most of the night chatting excitedly about their chosen subjects for their last year at school.

Dragging herself out of bed, and chuckling at the usual arguments between Mary and Theresa over the bathroom, Camille pulled out her uniform for the day and headed to the showers. After readying herself as quickly as possible, she rushed down to the Great Hall to receive her timetable for the year and eating a hurried breakfast of toast and marmalade.

Camille had an easy start to the morning, Herbology, which she found quite easy. Professor Sprout was a softie really, and if you showed an interest in anything plant related, you were bound to remain on her good side for a long time. Camille had aspirations of becoming a Healer, and after achieving the required results in her O.W.L's, had had to opt for the toughest subjects Hogwarts had to offer.

Camille bade goodbye to Lily, Mary and Theresa, who were heading own to Arithmancy, and dragged a tired Isla towards the greenhouses.

"Oh I hate the first day of the year," yawned Isla, rubbing her eyes, "I hope Sprout goes easy on us".

"Doubt it," grumbled Camille, "She worked us like packhorses last year, remember",

Isla mumbled something incoherent, and Camille chuckled. The girls turned the corner leading to the greenhouses and spotted a small crowd of students patiently awaiting their teacher. Amongst them, were Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, who were chatting away cheerily, looking as though they'd gotten a much better night's sleep than the girls had.

"Morning Millie, Isla," Remus greeted with a smile. Camille smiled in response, too tired to say anything. She squeezed in between Remus and Peter, leaning against the greenhouse wall and closing her eyes.

"Late night?" she heard Remus question, to which she nodded. Remus chuckled, and leant against the wall beside Camille.

"We have a meeting tonight; James posted it this morning on the notice board".

Camille opened her eyes, "I didn't have time to check, _someone_ forgot to set the alarm".

Isla visibly reddened, and turned her attention to Peter, talking about something completely irrelevant, no doubt.

"I'm praying we don't have to patrol, I'm going to bed as soon as the days over," Camille continued, her sentence followed by a rather large yawn. Remus chuckled again, and checked his watch. It seemed Professor Sprout was running late this morning too.

"James'll probably give to the fifth years, something about the elders not having to do the work".

"He would say that," grinned Camille, "He was never a prefect. I'm still shocked he actually got the badge".

"Dumbledore must've saw something in him," Remus shrugged, but Camille sensed a slight hardness to his tone. And who could blame him, Remus was perfect for the job, it didn't seem fair.

"Well, he and Lily have more responsibility than us," Camille reasoned, "We've got it easier than those two".

She glanced at Remus, who seemed to have brightened up a little at this. She smiled slightly. Sometimes, Remus needed a little reassurance, though she didn't know why. At that moment, Professor Sprout came bounding around the corner, professing her apologies for being late and tapping the greenhouse door with her wand. The class filed in, and Camille took her usual seat next to Remus, pulling out her dragon skin gloves and her textbook.

"Fire Seed Bushes!" Professor Sprout exclaimed, pointing to the row of plants behind her that were aflame, "Can anyone tell me what they are?"

Remus' hand immediatly rose, and Professor Sprout nodded.

"The Fire Seed Bush is a plant that must be on fire to live. From it, you collect the seeds which are used in various potions".

"Correct you are Mr Lupin," Professor Sprout beamed, "Ten points to Gryffindor. Now, Professor Slughorn needs some of said seeds, so today we'll be collecting them. You'll need to wear your gloves, goggles are provided. Two to a bush, once you have the seeds, put them in these bowls and give them to me at the end of the lesson, and girls, hair tied up".

The class stood, Remus went to collect one of the plants, whilst Camille collected a fire proof bowl and goggles. Once seated, the class set about collecting the seeds, taking extra care not to get their eyebrows singed.

"At least we'll be warm," chuckled Remus, boldly grabbing a handful of seeds from the plant. Camille raised her eyebrows and laughed nervously. Luckily, the dragon skin gloves protected their hands from the flames, and they were able to collect the seeds with ease.

"So, what pranks do the Marauders have planned for our final year?" asked Camille, dropping a fistful of seeds into the bowl beside her.

"A Marauder never tells," Remus winked, "But we're in for a hectic year, I can tell you that much".

Camille quirked an eyebrow, "Should I be worried?"

Remus chuckled, dropping his seeds into the bowl, "Have you ever not been worried?"

"Touché".

~*~

After Herbology, which was relatively uneventful unless you counted Ian Stebbins' eyebrows catching fire, Camille, Isla, Remus and Peter made their way back to the castle to spend their break. Camille, however, was leaving for the common room, having a free period for the next hour. She bade goodbye to Peter and Isla, who had either ancient runes or muggle studies, and set off for the common room with Remus.

The room was quiet when they entered, as most students would soon be leaving for their next lessons. Lily and Mary had ancient runes with Isla next, and Theresa had Muggle Studies with Peter.

"Shall we get started on the homework?" asked Remus, dumping his bag down next to one of the tables in the corner of the room. Camille nodded.

"Yeah, I'll go and get some more parchment".

When Camille returned, Remus had been joined by James and Sirius, who presumably had a free lesson now too. Thinking nothing of it, she quickly headed towards the boys and laid the rolls of parchment down next to Remus' open book.

"Do we need a trip to the library, or does the text book have all we need?" she asked, pulling out her quill. No answer. She glanced up, and saw that Remus was quite preoccupied with something James was telling him.

"Typical," she muttered, dipping her quill in the pot of ink and beginning to write.

Camille felt the hairs on the back of her neck stick up. She shivered a little, tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear, and returned to her essay. The feeling persisted, like an itch on the back of her neck. She absently rubbed her neck, finding it rather difficult to focus. Sliding her gaze ever so slowly to the left, she found the source of the problem. A pair of stormy grey eyes boring into the side of her head. She looked back quickly, and frowned. She could still feel his eyes on her, causing her to shudder once again. Setting down her quill, she straightened up, and turned to face Sirius.

"Did you...uhh...want something?"

James and Remus stopped talking and turned to see what was going on. Remus looked a little confused; James however, was smirking knowingly. Sirius merely continued to stare, the corners of his mouth turning up ever so slightly.

"No...just admiring the view".

Camille quirked an eyebrow, her mouth falling open slightly. James snorted and Remus shook his head.

"Umm...am I supposed to...uhh," Camille exchanged a glance with Remus, "Swoon?"

Sirius merely smirked, and leant towards Camille.

"You do whatever you want love," he straightened up, and winked at Camille.

"Come on Prongs, Snivellus has a free now too, I saw him heading for the library".

James' eyes brightened considerably, and he stood up, closely followed by Sirius. Camille watched the boys go with a confused look, then turned to Remus.

"What on Earth was that?"

~*~

"So how're things with Lilyflower?"

James and Sirius wandered the halls after finding that Snape had left the library. James shrugged, kicking the ground with his feet as they went.

"As depressing as ever. I dunno what I'm doing wrong mate. Everything I say she just snaps at".

Sirius shrugged, and they continued on down the hallway. After a few moments silence, Sirius spoke.

"I never thought I'd say this, but maybe you need to...tone things down a bit".

James frowned, "As in?"

"I dunno, act..._mature_" Sirius pulled a disgusted face at the word, "Just in front of Evans, you know".

James seemed to ponder this for a moment.

"Just in front of Evans...reckon that would work?"

Sirius nodded, "It's worth a shot, what've you got to lose?"

James stared incredulously at Sirius, "Oh, I dunno...only the love of my life?!"

Sirius snorted, "You don't love her, you're just obsessed".

James huffed, and crossed his arms like a small child, "This coming from the bloke who's never actually gotten to the three month marker".

"Have you?"

James opened his mouth to respond, then smirked, "Good point. But I'm different, I'm saving myself".

"Right," Sirius laughed, pushing the doors to the Great Hall open, "And has Evans hexed you lately?"

James shifted uncomfortably, "Once this morning, but I could tell she was forcing it".

Sirius barked a laugh, picking up an empty goblet that was laid out ready for lunch in half an hour, "You've got it bad Prongs".

"What about you and _Madame Camille_?" James smirked, "I can't believe you didn't know she was French".

"Well she doesn't exactly flaunt it!" cried Sirius in exasperation, "How was I supposed to know".

James put his finger to his chin and mocked a thoughtful look.

"Maybe the French name...or the fact that she speaks French when she's angry...or maybe that she told us when we first met her..."

"I don't have that good of a memory," grumbled Sirius, "Besides, it's only a matter of time, I've already started to work on it".

"Ahh," James took a seat at the empty Gryffindor table, "So _that's_ what that was all about, I just thought you were being an idiot again".

"Why am I friends with you?" scowled Sirius, aiming a kick at James who jumped away.

"You love me Paddy, admit it".

"When Evans admits she loves you," Sirius countered, earning himself a glare from his best friend.

"So you're really gonna do this. You're gonna get Camille to fall in love with you?" asked James.

Sirius nodded, "Shouldn't be too hard, the French are all hopeless romantics...besides, she's not too bad looking actually," he added thoughtfully.

James nodded, "I'm surprised you haven't tried it on before mate".

Sirius rolled his eyes, and chuckled.

"So am I, to be honest".

~*~

The bell for lunch rang, and Camille quickly stowed her things away in her bag. She and Remus hurried down to the Great Hall to beat the crowd, ignoring the glares they received from Rabastan and his cronies. Not that Camille cared; she hadn't gotten on with her cousins since third year. She spotted Lily, Isla and Mary walking towards the hall, and dragged Remus over.

"Hey Lils," Camille greeted jovially. Lily grinned, and linked her arm through Camille's.

"How's your first morning been?" the pretty red head asked as the two girls made their way to the Gryffindor table. Camille shrugged.

"Herbology was pretty interesting. We had to collect seeds from a plant that was on fire," she paused, and giggled, "Ian lost his eyebrows in the process, which was rather humorous, if I do say so myself".

Lily laughed, shaking her head, "Probably wasn't listening, the boy is such a chatterbox".

Camille nodded vehemently, "Then I had my free...actually that was strange".

"Oh?" Lily took an empty seat, Camille sliding in beside her, "And why is that?"

Camille glanced around, and spotted that Remus had gone to join James, Sirius and Peter further up the table. Theresa had joined Mary and Isla, who were discussing their morning lessons.

"Well...it's about Sirius, actually".

Lily straightened up a little as Camille told her what he had said, as well as the frequent using of her nickname, and the incident before the feast. Lily listened intently, nodding occasionally and looking thoughtful.

"Well," Camille said, having finished regaling Lily with her tale, "Any ideas?"

Lily snuck a glance down the table, where Sirius and Peter were partaking in a rather ferocious eating contest, then looked back.

"If I'm to make a guess, and it's just a guess mind you, I think you may have become Sirius' latest target".

And there they were, the words Camille had once longed to hear, the words she never thought she would ever hear, and the words she now wished she hadn't.

"Okay, scratch that, you don't look too happy," commented Lily, spying Camille's annoyed look.

"Urgh, he has some nerve. Thinks he can practically ignore me for six years and then try it on, who does he think he is?!"

Lily chuckled, shooting another glance towards the boys, "Sirius Black, of course".

Camille opened her mouth, then snapped it shut, and giggled.

"Right...why am I so annoyed by this?" she turned pleading blue eyes to Lily, who laughed once again.

"Cause its Sirius, we all know what he's like. No offence to the kid, but I think girls are starting to dislike the idea of dating him".

"I'm not surprised," Camille muttered darkly, "Remember the incident with Theresa; I was this close to throttling him".

Lily nodded with a scowl, "Good thing Remus calmed us all down before we caused serious damage".

Camille snorted at the unintended pun, her eyes flickering towards Sirius, who was proclaiming his victory having beaten Peter.

"Hopefully if I just ignore it, it'll go away".

"I dunno," Lily said sceptically, "Sirius can be pretty persistent".

Camille waved her hand dismissively, "No, no, he'll get the picture".

"Who'll get the picture," Isla had turned away from Theresa and Mary's conversation and was eyeing the pair suspiciously.

"Nothing, I'll tell you later," Camille whispered, "Why does Theresa look so angry?"

"Oh that's right!" Isla slapped a hand to her forehead, "You weren't there".

"Billy dumped her," Lily whispered, "For Carly Carmen".

Camille's jaw dropped, "Are you kidding me? When? What happened?"

Isla moved closer to the pair, "Well, we were coming out of our first lesson, and Billy just showed up. He pulled Theresa to the side, and told her it was over. She asked why, he said there was someone else. She asked who, he said Carly. She shouted, he backed away, then she hexed him".

Camille shot out a laugh, her eyes wide with disbelief.

"Wow, wish I could've been there".

"It was brilliant," whispered Lily, "I've never seen a Bat Bogey Hex like it! It'll take a powerful witch to top something like that".

Camille continued to chuckle, shaking her head and finally getting round to her dinner.

"Oh wonderful," Isla started sarcastically, "Double potions with the Slytherins, this should be fun".

"If Potter pulls anything I may dismember him," Lily muttered darkly, causing Camille and Isla to shriek with laughter. The noise caught the attention of the Marauders, who looked over to the girls. James waved at Lily, who rolled her eyes and continued with her meal. Camille noticed Isla redden suddenly, and bury her face behind her timetable. Sirius, however, winked at Camille, then turned away. Camille snorted with disgust, shaking her head once more. He really was an idiot.

~*~

For some strange reason, the teachers seemed to think pairing the Gryffindors and the Slytherins together in a lesson that handled toxic elixirs and many poisons without cause for concern. Luckily, there had been no deaths as a result, but there had been quite a number of nasty accidents, more often than not, involving the Marauders.

All four of the wayward boys took the subject, James, Sirius and Remus all excelling, and Peter passing through their tutoring. At least one good thing could be said about them by Lily, they did help Peter alot.

Camille used to partner Remus, until the incident in fifth year, when Lily had begged Professor Slughorn to allow her to partner Camille instead of Snape. Lily, who was perhaps Slughorn's favourite student, understood her predicament and allowed it immediately, leaving Remus to partner Peter. He hadn't minded, of course, knowing that Lily now despised Snape. However, it meant that Lily and Camille were sandwiched between four rowdy Marauders during the lesson, something Lily had disliked from the start.

It had never bothered Camille; for the most part, James had pestered Lily for a bit, gotten bored, and plotted something with Sirius, leaving the girls in peace to either focus on their potion or chat with Remus and Peter. However now, Camille was sure Lily wouldn't be the only one being pestered.

The girls took their seats on the right side of the room, directly behind Sirius and James, directly in front of Remus and Peter. So far, the two in front hadn't spoken to Camille and Lily, though it was only a matter of time.

Professor Slughorn entered the room, his pale, gooseberry eyes surveying his students brightly. He set down his briefcase, whipped out his wand, and wrote the word '_Amortentia'_ on the blackboard.

"Amortentia," he boomed, "Can anybody tell me what this is?"

Lily's hand immediately shot in the air, and Camille smiled. Lily was always in her element in potions.

"Yes Miss Evans," Slughorn said jovially, clearly happy to see one of his favourite students.

"Amortentia is a potion that causes a powerful infatuation or obsession within the drinker. If correctly brewed, the smell of the potion will differ to each person, giving off the scents of the things they love the most".

Slughorn applauded politely, and grinned through his large moustache, "Excellent Miss Evans, ten points to Gryffindor. Now, can anyone tell me what colour the potion would be if brewed correctly?"

"Mother-of-Pearl," called Lily quickly, reddening slightly as several Slytherins at the back of the room sniggered.

"Correct again Miss Evans, take another ten points. Now, Amortentia can be dangerous, can anyone tell me why?"

Camille decided to have some input, and raised her hand.

"Yes Miss Bellegarde?"

"The drinker can become unstable towards his or hers target of affection. They can become dangerous in their infatuation, towards themselves and others," Camille answered promptly.

"Very good Miss Bellegarde, ten points to Gryffindor. Now," Slughorn waved his wand once again, and a set of instructions appeared on the board, "We covered Amortentia in your sixth year. I have left out three main ingredients, so to test your knowledge, I would like you in your pairs to locate the missing ingredients and brew the potion. You have the entire lesson, you may begin".

Camille glanced uneasily at Lily, but was relieved to see her looking rather confident. She smiled at Camille, then hurried from her seat to the store cupboard. Camille pulled out her wand and conjured flames beneath the cauldron in front of her, and waited for Lily to return.

Sirius turned in his seat, and grinned at Camille. She smiled back, more out of politeness than anything, then turned back to her cauldron. The itch on the back of her neck returned, and she let out an exasperated sigh.

"Can I help you, Sirius," she said a little frostily. Sirius seemed undeterred, and continued to grin.

"I never noticed how pretty your eyes are," he said smoothly, leaning towards Camille.

Camille quirked an eyebrow, "Probably because this is the first time we've spoken in about six years," she turned back to her cauldron just as Lily returned.

"Alright I have anything, managed to avoid a run in with Potter, god the boy is..." Lily trailed off, noting that Sirius was watching Camille with a strange look upon his face.

"Can we help you, Sirius," she asked slowly. Sirius continued to stare at Camille, then shook his head.

"No, I'm fine. Nice talking to you, Millie," Sirius turned back around and began chatting to James. Lily raised her eyebrows, and glanced at Lily.

"What was all that about?"

Camille winced, and chewed her lip.

"I think your musings about Sirius were right...and I think _I_ was a little too harsh".

Lily tilted her head quizzically, but said nothing. She began sorting through the ingredients whilst Camille stared out of the wind, her normally bright eyes glazed over and her mouth hanging open slightly.

She wasn't sure why she felt bad, or felt that she had been too harsh. Her intention was to make it clear to Sirius she wasn't interested, which she wasn't, of course. Maybe it was the fact that Camille had watched for years Lily brushing James off so carelessly, but also seen the look in his eyes when she did so, something Lily clearly missed. And nothing, nothing in her world would make her want to make someone feel like that.

Deciding there was no point in dwelling on it, and that Sirius more than likely didn't care, Camille shook herself from her reverie, and turned to help Lily with the potion.

It was nearing the end of the lesson, and Lily and Camille had done a fine job in brewing their Amortentia; in fact, the entire class seemed to have done extremely well, each cauldron shimmering a pearly, pink-white colour. Camille grinned at Lily, and leant forward to smell the potion.

"What can you smell?" Lily asked, garnering the attention of Sirius and James. Camille closed her eyes for a moment, and smiled.

"Fresh bread...something musky, I'm not sure what it is...croissants...the wine my dad drinks," the grin slid from Camille's face, and she adopted a rather perplexed look.

"What?" asked Lily, looking slightly alarmed.

"And dog?"

Camille heard a sputter, but ignored it, "I always thought I was a cat person".

Lily shrugged, and inhaled the fumes of the potion, "Mmmm...mum's apple pie...a new book...a woody smell...oh I love this potion".

Camille nodded vehemently, and grinned, "Definitely, though I'm still confused about the dog," Camille turned to see James and Sirius watching the girls, "What did you two smell?"

"Nothing," James replied immediately, going slightly red and turning away. Camille glanced at Sirius, who shrugged.

"The usual stuff, broomsticks, butterbeer, you know..." he trailed off, then turned back to his potion. Lily and Camille exchanged confused glances, then shrugged simultaneously. Boys could be very strange.

* * *

_A/N: And there's chapter three! Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, I'm glad you liked it! :) I hope you all enjoy this chapter too, I had a lot of fun writing this one!_


	4. Looks Aren't Everything

_Disclaimer: See Chapter One._

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Four**

_**Looks aren't everything**_

The first week of term seemed to fly by, and Camille quickly settled back into life at Hogwarts. The classes were a little harder than last year, and Camille could already see the homework beginning to pile up, but all in all, she was enjoying her first week back at school.

She was balancing her prefect duties nicely, Sirius seemed to have backed off a little, and the arguments between Lily and James seemed to have stopped. When Camille questioned Lily about this, she merely replied with a shrug, and said that Potter hadn't given her cause for arguing, something Camille found _very_ interesting.

You see, Lily and James were renowned for their arguing, it was as much a part of daily life at Hogwarts as the lessons themselves. James would pull a prank, or hex some poor innocent child, and Lily would shout, scream, insult and eventually punish James. It was the way things had always been, the way things _should_ have been. They argued, James pined, Lily scoffed; it was the way things were. But now, merely a week into term, Lily had not raised her voice since the feast, and not a single child had gone running to Madam Pomfrey after running into James Potter; it was cause for concern.

So Camille, who was getting slightly worried, decided to confront James about the situation, and find out what was going on.

"James...James!"

The tall, bespectacled boy turned around to see Camille running down the hall towards him, dark wavy hair flying out behind her. He bade goodbye to the group of girls he'd been chatting with (all of whom looked slightly annoyed) and waited to Camille to reach him.

"Millie, good morning," he greeted jovially.

Camille frowned, "Not you too," she muttered.

"What?"

Camille started slightly, then shook her head, "Nothing. Listen, I need to talk to you," she glanced around, spying an empty classroom, and dragged James towards it.

Once inside, she quickly shut the door and rounded on James, who was smirking.

"Not that I'm not flattered Millie, but my heart belongs to another," he grinned.

Camille narrowed her eyes, "I knew you hadn't really changed. What are you up to Potter?"

James shrugged, leaning casually against one of the desks in the room.

"No idea what you're going on about Mills," he winked at her, causing her to scowl further.

"You know what I mean. You and Lily...no arguing...Lily _praising _you, somewhat".

"Praising me?" James straightened up, his hazel eyes brightening, "What'd she say?"

Camille waved her hand dismissively, "Nothing to get excited about Potter, but I want to know what little game you're playing. You haven't hexed anyone since the train, you and Lily haven't argued since the feast...unless you count that little incident the other day. But really, that was the most feeble hex I've ever seen Lily direct at you...you're acting so...so..."

"Mature?" James offered to a nodding Camille, "Yeah, I figured if Lily's ever going to go out with me, I need to grow up a bit".

Camille looked positively faint. Had James Potter really said that?

"Don't look so shocked," chuckled James, "I really like Lily...and if toning down my Marauding ways is what needs to be done, then so be it".

Camille mouthed wordlessly at James, still quite unable to register what she was hearing. James Potter...growing up?!

"I...well...wow," she finally said, running a hand through her hair, "That's...that's uhhh...wow," she looked up at James, "You really like her, don't you?"

James' expression softened, and he nodded, "Yeah," he whispered, "I really do".

Camille chewed her lip, then began to smile. She nodded firmly, then stepped towards the door, stopping just before she exited.

"You know, if you really want to win her heart, be more enthusiastic about your Head Boy duties, she'll love it".

James grinned stupidly, and moved over to Camille, pulling her into an embrace.

"Thanks Millie, you're alright, you know".

"Thanks," Camille chuckled, "Now let's go before some little gossip gets the wrong idea".

James nodded tersely, and checked the halls before dragging Camille out of the room with him. The two made their way up towards the Gryffindor tower, chatting about James' recent change in behaviour, and for some reason, James seeming particularly keen to talk about Sirius' past conquests. Thinking nothing of it, Camille listened politely and laughed where needed.

As they entered the common room, she spotted something glinting on James' chest, other than the usual Head Boy badge.

"Oh, congratulations James," she grinned, "I didn't know you'd made captain too".

James nodded proudly, "You know, even Lily congratulated me, how great is that?"

Camille laughed, and shook her head, "You're alright Potter, you know".

James rolled his eyes and clapped Camille on the back, before disappearing up the boy's staircase. Camille stood for a moment, smiling, then raced up her own set of stairs, humming happily to herself. Oh how she loved meddling in Lily's love life.

~*~

"...so if you have any questions, here is this weekend and next week's patrol schedules. I've spaced you all out, so no one does it more than anyone else, so don't come complaining to me that someone's doing more than the other, okay?"

The prefects in the prefect common room grumbled and mumbled in response. Lily rolled her eyes and began to pack her things away as her peers filed out of the room. Beside her, James stood, watching with a slightly dazed look on his face. Camille exchanged an amused glance with Remus, then moved over to the pair.

"Thanks for putting me with Remus," Camille smiled at Lily, "Remember last year when we kept get paired with Snape, I swear the boy was trying to kill me".

Lily chuckled, and gathered up her things, "What do you expect with a Slytherin Head Girl and Boy, hearing the house cup positions was awful".

"We got them on the last day of term," James said proudly, ignoring Camille who was shaking her head, "Bulbadox powder in their sheets".

Camille closed her eyes with a pained look on her face, waiting for Lily's scolding. It never came.

"I remember that, they thought they had fleas," Lily chuckled slightly, then seemed to remember who she was talking to, "Not that it was funny, Potter, what if they had been severely allergic?"

James opened his mouth to respond, but from the warning look on Remus' face, stopped. He merely shrugged.

"I guess I didn't think about that," he mumbled, shooting a pleading look towards Camille. The blue eyed girl took pity on poor James, and began to giggle.

"It was funny though. Natalie Grimsbrook couldn't walk for a week; I heard she had boils all over her body".

"Please Millie, I just had my dinner," Remus grimaced, causing Camille, James and Lily all to laugh. As Lily left, Camille threw James a thumbs up, then followed.

"Have you sorted a date for Hogsmeade?" Camille asked as the girls made their way down the hallway. Lily shook her head.

"Not yet, but I'm thinking two weeks from now. Quidditch tryouts are next weekend, so we can't have it then, and this weekend is too short notice".

Camille nodded, "So, any potential dates lined up?"

Lily snorted, "When do I ever go on dates?"

Camille paused for a moment, then snapped her fingers, "Last year, Mark Jefferson".

Lily snorted again, "And that went well, I can't be bothered with dates, Millie. Waste of time".

Camille glanced back to where James and Remus were whispering, then turned back.

"What about James?"

"Potter, of course not," Lily said rather quickly. Camille quirked an eyebrow when she saw a slight flush creeping into Lily's cheeks.

"Really, cause he's changed quite a bit since last year, and it's only been a week! Don't you think his mature side makes him a bit more handsome?"

Lily seemed to redden further, but she shook her head, "What about Sirius," she said scathingly, "I saw him staring at you again this morning in defence".

Camille paled slightly, and shook her head, "Stop changing the subject. Admit it, you fancy James".

"I do not!" cried Lily, causing James and Remus to shoot them strange looks. Lily chewed her lip, and quietened her voice, "Alright, I'll admit he's changed somewhat, he even helped me set up the meeting just before, but that doesn't mean I fancy him. He's still the same arrogant, bullying little toe-rag we all know and despise".

Camille chuckled, and shook her head, "Alright Lils, alright. But he's grown up, even you can't deny that. I have a feeling you'll be seeing the real James Potter soon enough".

"Yeah right," Lily scoffed, "And what makes you think I'd go out with him even if he did change?"

Camille shrugged, leading Lily up a flight of stairs, "Believe it or not Lils, but James really does like you...alot," she added. Grinning, she walked ahead, leaving a half angry, half perplexed Lily Evans in her wake.

~*~

Saturdays were always fun at Hogwarts, whether it was a Hogsmeade weekend, a Quidditch match or practice, or whether nothing was on at all. The fact was; the students got to relax for one day before tackling their homework on Sunday evening.

Usually, if the weather was nice, the girls would wander around the grounds for a bit, discussing the week's events. Luckily, the weather had brightened a little since their first night back, and though it was still cold, and the clouds were still grey, the rain had abated long enough for the Gryffindor girls to venture outside.

"...so obviously Billy was all over Carly as soon as he saw me," Theresa said bitterly, "Bloody fool. Thinks I'm jealous, just wait until I get a new boyfriend, then who'll be laughing?"

"Henry reckons you're too good for him anyway," Mary said soothingly, "You know what you should do though, don't you".

Theresa and the other girls shot Mary a quizzical look. They had decided to sit at the lakes edge, occasionally throwing stones and small pebbles into its murky depths.

"And what's that?" asked Isla interestedly.

Mary grinned, "Date a Marauder. That'll really rub it in".

Isla reddened considerably, and mumbled something none of the girls heard or paid attention too. Lily and Camille both exchanged amused looks.

"Which one?" asked Camille.

"Well," Mary leant back on her elbows, crossing her outstretched legs, "James is off limits," she glanced at Lily, "For obvious, red headed reasons".

"Sod off," Lily chucked a pebble at Mary, though a hint of a smile could be seen on her face.

"And Remus," Mary continued, "Isla would throw a fit".

"What?!" cried Lily and Camille, turning their attention to a fiercely blushing Isla.

"You like Remus?" Camille questioned with a grin. It made sense.

"I may have a teeny tiny thing for him," muttered Isla, "Nothing worth mentioning".

"She never stops staring at him," smirked Theresa, "I'm surprised you two haven't noticed"

"I did," sounded Camille smugly, "I just wasn't sure which Marauder she was after".

"I'm not after him!" cried Isla. Camille patted her gently on the shoulder whilst the other girls giggled.

"Alright, that leaves Sirius and Peter," started Mary after they had stopped laughing.

Lily shook her head, "No, no not Sirius. He's taken too".

"Really," Theresa frowned, "I haven't seen him with a girl since we got back...unless," she and Mary turned amused faces to Camille, who rolled her eyes.

"Ohh, he's after Millie, that makes sense, actually".

Camille frowned, "How on earth does that make sense?"

Mary shrugged, "You're both good looking, both smart, both Gryffindors," she looked back to Theresa, "You're stuck with Peter".

"There's nothing wrong with Peter, I tutor him in Charms quite a bit" Theresa said defensively, "Actually, I think I'll stay single for a bit. Maybe someone will ask me to Hogsmeade".

"It's on the 24th," Lily reminded the girls, "I put the notice up this morning".

"Cool, Henry's finally letting me take him to Madam Puddifoots," Mary grinned, "I love that place".

Camille pulled a face, "Really, it's a bit sickly, don't you think?"

Mary shook her head, "Na, romantic. Which reminds me, I need to find him," the brunette stood up, dusting herself off, "I'll see you lot at dinner".

"Bye," the girls chorused. Camille spotted the Marauders greeting Mary as they passed, then made a beeline for the remaining girls.

"Marauder alert," grinned Theresa, "Put on your angry face, Lils".

"Shut up," hissed Lily whilst the other girls giggled.

"Afternoon ladies," James greeted, "You're all looking particularly stunning this fine day".

"Do you want something?" Lily sighed, turning to look up at James. James didn't seem fazed by the less than warm greeting, and sat himself beside Lily, "Just a chat, really. You lot looked bored".

"Well we weren't," Lily said indignantly.

"Speak for yourself," Theresa muttered, "Hi Pete, we still on for charms later?"

Peter jumped at being addressed directly, and nodded, "If that's alright".

Theresa nodded, "Yeah that's fine".

Camille watched the exchange with a small grin, then noticed she was being watched again. She glanced at Sirius, who offered a small smile. Strangely, she returned it.

"What were you lot talking about?" asked James, pulling at a piece of grass and moving a little bit closer to an uncomfortable looking Lily.

"You lot," Camille answered, earning glares from both Lily and Isla, "Why?"

James shrugged, "Just wondering, Lily, do you wanna get together and help me sort out the Gryffindor Quidditch tryouts? I could use a little help," he asked hopefully. Lily didn't seem too enthusiastic, but agreed nonetheless.

"Brilliant! Let's go," he grabbed her hand, dragging her to her feet and took off. The remaining Gryffindors laughed as they heard Lily's protests, Remus and Sirius taking their vacated spots on the grass.

"We could go and get started on Charms if you like," said Theresa, throwing a smug look at Camille. Camille groaned inwardly.

"Uhh, alright," Peter nodded, standing up.

"Coming, Isla?" Theresa continued, giving her a pointed look. Isla frowned for a moment, then smiled when she realised what Theresa was doing, "Yeah, yeah...uhhh...Remus?"

Remus glanced at Camille, who was staring harshly at the ground, and nodded, "Why not. There's nothing better to do. Millie? Sirius?"

"Millie's already done it," Theresa piped up, "Come on, Sirius'll keep her company, won't you Sirius?"

Sirius nodded with a small smile, and waved as the group left. Camille tried to focus on the giant squid, whose tentacles broke the surface of the lake every so often.

"So, how's your first week back been?" she heard Sirius ask. Camille shrugged.

"Alright. Yours?"

"Bit boring," Sirius leant back on his elbows, "James doesn't want to pull any pranks in case it ruins his chances with Lilyflower, and since we can't do any with a missing Marauder, we can't do them at all".

"Well I think it's great that James is trying so hard, it shows how much he really likes her," Camille defended. Sirius watched her for a moment, then shrugged.

"I suppose, I mean, it was my idea for him to calm down a little".

Camille frowned, and turned to Sirius, "Really?"

Sirius nodded, "Yep. Believe it or not, but I care about James, and I know how much he likes his Lilyflower...I'd do anything to help".

Camille was quite shocked. Sirius Black, having a soft side. Who knew?

"That's really nice of you;" she said softly, "James needs all the help he can get".

Sirius grinned, and nodded, "That he does. Remember in third year, when he bought Lily those flowers, only to find out they bit you when you tried to water them?"

Camille burst out into laughter, remembering the day well.

"Oh, that was priceless. Lily's hand was bandaged for a week. I've never seen her so angry".

Sirius chuckled, "I've never seen James so distraught".

Camille shook her head, "Poor boy. It's a shame that he actually does like her, and Lily just can't see it".

"She will," Sirius said confidently, "They're meant for each other, anyone can see that".

Silence befell the pair. Camille looked over at Sirius, studying him intently. She couldn't deny that he was handsome. He had a casual elegance about him, the way his shaggy, dark hair fell into his eyes with an effortless grace not many could achieve. His eyes could range from a soft, blue-ish grey to the colour of a storm, depending on his mood of course. He was tall, not too muscular, but defined from his years as a beater on the Quidditch team. With his long legs stretched out in front of him, and a hint of a smile playing about his handsome face, Camille came to the conclusion that Sirius Black was very good looking indeed. But looks weren't everything, as her mother had always told her.

Something strange pulled in the region of her stomach, and Camille frowned. Like a twisting sensation, a bizarre fluttering that seemed to be getting stronger the longer she looked at him. It was odd, very odd indeed.

Sirius could tell she was watching him. He could always tell when a girl was watching him. Sometimes he would ignore it, if the girl wasn't worth chasing, and sometimes he would send a wink or a flirty smile their way, depending on how good looking they were, really.

Camille wasn't bad looking, he had surmised that many years ago. She wasn't a stunner, Sirius could name plenty of girls he would class as prettier than her, but she was pretty. She was very small, almost fragile looking, but her body was curved in all the right places, something that was a rarity amongst the image conscious girls he normally went out with. Her skin was pale, and seemed to glow when the sun hit her, sort of a creamy colour, Sirius supposed. Her hair was long, almost black in colour, falling in soft waves to the middle of her back. She had nice hair, he thought, it looked quite soft and appealing. Her eyes were what he had noticed the most, though. They were a bright azure blue, like a summer's sky, and they seemed to sparkle whenever she found something amusing, but would darken when she was angry or nervous. He liked her eyes quite a bit. Her smile was another nice feature, bright and wide, like a beacon of happiness, her lips were full, and rather large...they looked very soft too.

Shaking his head, Sirius allowed his mind to wander, and began thinking just how long it would take to hear her say 'I love you', and win the bet. He wouldn't stop until he had won, of course, but he was hoping it wouldn't be too much of a challenge, he did want to win after all.

"You _do_ have very pretty eyes," he said, deciding to use the time he had to move forward a little. Camille started, and glanced back over at Sirius. The odd pull in her stomach came again, and much to her annoyance, she felt her cheeks warm ever so slightly.

"Thank you," she mumbled, unable to think of anything to say. Typical Sirius, complimenting her looks as he did with most girls. Did he even know anything about her?

"No problem," his mouth curved slightly, his lips pouting a little. Camille merely smiled, the ability to form a sentence completely lost to her.

"You know, we should hang out sometime, get to know each other," he continued, almost as if he were reading her mind. Camille chewed her lip nervously.

"Uhhh...I...I suppose...we could get together in the library sometime, I have a feeling the work'll keep piling up".

Sirius laughed lightly, the fluttering in Camille's stomach starting to annoy her.

"Great. Let me know, you seem like a lot of fun," he stood up, dusting himself off then offering a hand to Camille. She cautiously took it, and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet.

"Let's head back; no doubt Prongs'll want to tell me every detail of his meeting with Lilyflower".

Camille chuckled, "I'm sure Lily will do that same".

And so, Sirius Black and Camille Bellegarde walked together back up to the school for the first time in six years, both unknowing to the others thoughts. For the sake of hearts, hopefully neither would find out.

* * *

_A/N: And there's chapter four! I hope you enjoy it, I had a great time writing it...a bit of humour here and there (I hope)...some Lily/James fluff (which I love) and lots of romance of course :)_

_Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, your comments are always very much appreciated :D (I hope there are more to come!)_

_I may be able to update a little faster this week, as I've managed to find a balance, and have given myself quite abit of 'me' time...which of course means I'll be writing :D_

_Until next time, hopefully you'll enjoy this chapter, and leave a review if your feeling extra generous :)_


	5. Mon Cheri

_Disclaimer: See Chapter One._

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Five**

_**Mon Chéri**_

"Lily! Lily Evans! LILY!"

Camille rushed into the girl's dormitory, looking very much like she had just walked through one of the school ghosts. Lily, who had left James sorting out the Quidditch tryouts saying she was tired, looked up in alarm as her best friend barrelled into the room, shouting her name.

"Whoa, Millie! Calm down, what happened?"

Camille looked at Lily as if she had just realised she was there, her blue eyes darkened somewhat and the rosy tint of her cheeks gone completely.

"Camille?" Lily stood up, only using her full name if something was wrong, and something definitely _was_ wrong.

"I...he...me...Sirius...flutter...queasy..." Camille collapsed onto Lily's bed face first, burying her head in the pillows. Lily raised her eyebrows, and sat down beside her.

"Queasy? Mills, what's wrong?"

Camille shook her head, groaning into the scarlet cushions on Lily's bed. Lily chewed her lip, and stroked her friends head.

"Come on Millie, tell me what happened," she soothed, moving back as her friend pulled herself into a sitting position. Camille looked thoroughly distraught, all colour having drained from her face, and her hair hanging limply. She took a deep breath, and with pleading eyes, said, "He said I had pretty eyes...and I got butterflies".

Lily gaped at Camille, her emerald eyes widening considerably. Camille groaned, her head falling into her hands.

"Oh," was all Lily could manage.

"What on earth is wrong with me!?" Camille suddenly cried, her head snapping up, "This is _Sirius_! How could I fall for this?! Pour lui?! Je suis si stupide! Papillons! Pourquoi papillons?! Pourquoi moi?! Je suis un tel imbécile! Je suis -"

"Okay, speaking a language I don't understand sweetie," Lily placed her hand on Camille's shoulder, fighting a grin, "Now tell me what happened".

Camille's shoulders sagged, her breath coming in short, ragged gasps. With a quiet, almost frightened voice, she told Lily what had happened after she and James left.

"...and then he said we should get to know each other, as if he was reading my bloody mind! Lily help me! I can't have..._feelings_...for Sirius...even if it is just...squirminess..." Camille trailed off, her head falling into her hands again. Lily shook her head, chewing her lip.

"Has something changed, I mean, you've never felt this way before," she asked. Camille shrugged.

"I've always known he was handsome...I just never really _noticed_ he was...until this afternoon".

"Ahhh," Lily nodded, "I see what's happened. You took a good look at him, something you haven't done since..."

"Since second year," breathed Camille, "When I fancied him...oh dear lord! No, Lily, please no!"

Lily laughed, but quickly stopped, and wrapped an arm around her friend's shoulders.

"Stop worrying! Just because you're somewhat attracted to him doesn't mean you have to do anything," Lily tucked a strand of Camille's hair behind her ear, "It'll pass, trust me".

Camille's face adopted a hopeful expression, and she smiled weakly, "Really?"

Lily nodded, "Really. Every girl had felt an attraction to Sirius, heck, even I have. But I got over it, most do. Sirius is quite choosy when it comes to girls, so not a lot of them get to act upon their feelings".

Camille nodded, but looked unconvinced, "But I told him I'd hang out with him...what if he's...I dunno...chosen me? What am I supposed to do then?"

Lily smiled sympathetically, "Refuse his advances, it's actually quite easy...I would know, I've had six years practice with Potter".

Camille gave a watery chuckle, "It's not that he's a bad person...he just treats girls bad. I don't want to be another notch on Sirius Black's bedpost".

"Good!" said Lily proudly, "You're worth more than that, just like I don't want to be another notch on Potter's broomstick".

Camille smiled, but shook her head, "I'm afraid that broomstick has had your name on it for years, you know you're the only one for him".

Lily rolled her eyes, and smiled a little, "If I believed that, I wouldn't have rejected him".

"He's a good bloke Lily, a little childish, but he has a good heart. He likes you, heck, the boy loves you...you should believe it".

Lily watched Camille for a moment with a strange expression, then shook her head.

"Let's not talk about boys, alright. How about we have a sleepover tonight? Get the girls together, nick some food from the kitchens, raid Theresa's chocolate stash. Sound fun?"

"Very," Camille grinned, running a hand through her hair, "You're right. Nothing has to happen, it'll pass".

Lily nodded with assurance, a small smirk playing about her features when Camille turned to put away her cloak and scarf.

~*~

_**Death Eater Attack in Yorkshire Leaves Twelve Dead and Four Missing**_

_Minister for Magic Millicent Bagnold confirmed this morning that the attack by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Names in Yorkshire last night has left nine muggles and three wizards dead, with four confirmed to be missing. The attack happened at around eleven thirty last night, after alarms were raised near the village church. Aurors arrived immediately on the scene, to what was described as 'utter chaos'. The names of the dead and missing have not yet been released; however Minister Bagnold has confirmed that an entire family of witches and wizards has gone missing. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named..._

Camille chewed her lip, and leant away from Lily's copy of the Sunday Prophet, her heart racing. There hadn't been an attack for quite some time, over a month, to be exact, however she and the rest of the magical world had known it would only be a matter of time. Lord Voldemort was become more aggressive in his quest to 'purify' the wizarding world, and it seemed the end was nowhere near in sight.

"It's awful," Lily whispered, her face paling, "Do you think it'll ever end?"

Camille glanced up to the teachers table, not surprised to see Professor Dumbledore and several other teachers in deep conversation, copies of the Prophet held in their hands. The Headmaster looked tired and weary, his eyes dull and his wrinkles more prominent.

"Someday, we just have to hope soon, I guess".

"Look at the Slytherins, smiling away, oh how I'd love to shove my wand –"

"Mary," Lily said in a warning tone, "Don't let them get to you, it's what they want".

Mary cracked her knuckles threateningly, and looked away, mumbling something that sounded like a rather detailed threat of what she'd do if she got her hands on Slytherin seventh year Jessica Harker. Camille chuckled weakly, and glanced down the table, where James and Sirius were making rather crude hand gestures towards the Slytherin table. She sighed, and turned back to her breakfast.

"Oh my!" cried Isla, causing Camille's head to snap up. She followed her friends gaze, and shrieked with laughter. Snape and his fellow Slytherin seventh years, along with several students that looked to be from the year below had jumped to their feet, crying out in shock. Their hair began to grow at an alarming rate, joined quickly by thick eyebrows, flowing, full beards, moustaches and ear hair to boot. Camille began to weep with laughter when she spotted Rabastan waving his hands around frantically, his dark hair now well past his waist. The Great Hall rang with laughter, the loudest from four boys halfway down the Gryffindor table.

"POTTER! BLACK! LUPIN AND PETTIGREW! MY OFFICE! NOW!"

Camille and the girls turned to see Professor McGonagall marching from the teachers table, past the girls and towards the Marauders, who doubled over and crying with laughter.

"Aww, come on Minerva, it's just a harmless hair growth potion, no damage done," pouted Sirius, tears of laughter rolling down his cheek.

"Yeah Minnie," grinned James, "Frankly, I think Snivellus looks loads better with a full head of that greasy – "

"Enough!" hissed McGonagall, "Get to my office before I dp something I will regret!"

"But you'd regret it, wouldn't you Minerva," Sirius winked cheekily. Professor McGonagall looked ready to explode.

"Move," she hissed.

The Marauders stood up, still guffawing loudly, and filed out of the Great Hall, a tight lipped Professor McGonagall following them stiffly. Camille glanced at Lily, who until then, had fought desperately not to laugh. The shared one look, then fell into bouts of giggles, their laughter doubling when Wilhelmina Logue tripped over her platinum blonde beard and fell into a livid looking Regulus Black. Professor Dumbledore fired several loud bangs from his wand, calming the students, though Camille was happy to his mouth twitching as Professor Slughorn rounded up his affected students and ushered them out of the hall.

"You know, even though that was utterly childish, I have to admit, those four are growing on me," giggled Lily, picking up her goblet and chinking it against Camille's, all worries of the recent attack pushed to the backs of their minds.

~*~

Mid-week, and Camille found herself once again stuck in the library, poring over various text books, her hand aching from the amount she had written. And yet, she was still nowhere near finished. Cursing the man or woman who had ever created homework, she barely noticed a boy slowly walking up to her, hands jammed in his pockets and eyes casually surveying her.

"Burning the midnight oil?"

Camille jumped, and looked up to see Sirius Black smiling down at her. She exhaled loudly, and nodded.

"I'm sure Slughorn gave us extra for that little stunt you and your minions pulled," she said bitterly. Sirius chuckled, and took a seat next to Camille, leaning over and studying her essay.

"It's six scoops of beetle eyes and then stir _counter_ clockwise," he pointed to her mistake, "Stirring it clockwise will make it explode".

Camille quirked and eyebrow, "And you would know that how?"

Sirius chuckled, "We told Peter that once. It was funny".

"You trick your own? Are any of us safe?" joked Camille, correcting her mistake.

Sirius shrugged, "Depends how nice you are to us," he winked as she looked up, and ignoring the pleasurable squirm in her stomach, Camille rolled her eyes.

"Did you want something?"

Sirius leant back in his chair, tilting it back on two legs, "You said we could hang out, and we haven't yet, I was wondering why?"

Camille chewed her lip again, and turned her attention back to her essay, "I've been busy. Homework, prefect duties and such..." she trailed off, feeling quite uneasy.

"Oh, well, let's do something now," Sirius grinned, "Talk, or something".

Camille frowned. Talk? Sirius wanted to talk?

Deciding she was thoroughly sick of potions, Camille set down her quill and turned to Sirius, hoping she could keep any blushing to bare minimum.

"Okay, what do you want to talk about?"

Sirius watched her for a moment, then smiled a rather charming smile.

"Let's start with you, tell me everything there is to know about Camille Bellegarde".

Camille quirked an eyebrow, but decided to humour him.

"Well, there isn't much really...I was born in France, moved to Lulworth when I was two...that's when I met Remus –"

"Remus? Remus Lupin?" frowned Sirius.

"How many other Remus' do you know?" Camille smirked. Sirius chuckled.

"Fair point, I just didn't know you'd known him that long".

Camille nodded, "Yep, best friends. But he moved when he was six, we still kept in touch though. He was my first friend at Hogwarts, obviously, until I met Lils and the girls, and he met you lot".

"Sorry for stealing him," Sirius pouted, making Camille's breath quicken.

"It's...uhh...fine, yeah. Well anyway...my dad's French, but my mum was born in London, she wanted us to go to Hogwarts, said it was the best magical school there was".

"I agree with your mum," grinned Sirius, "Do you visit France often?"

Camille nodded, "Normally in the summer we go and visit my grandparents, that's always fun, unless Rodolphus and Rabastan are there," she added bitterly, not missing the face Sirius pulled at the mention of her dear cousin's names, "What about you, I'm afraid I don't know much about you either".

Sirius' eyes seemed to darken a little, but he smiled nonetheless.

"Nothing much to me. I'm a Marauder, trouble maker, scally wag, call me what you will. I'm more interested in you, if I'm honest," Sirius winked at Camille, and she felt her cheeks warm considerably.

"Oh...I'm...I'm not that interesting".

Sirius shook his head, "Course you are. You speak French, don't you? Say something, I've never heard anyone speak French before," he batted his eyelids a little, and Camille giggled.

"Vous êtes certainement beaux, Sirius. Si seulement vous saviez," she said a little breathily.

Sirius' eyes seemed to glaze over a little. A silly grin played about his features, and he moved closer to her.

"My my, I think I'm going to like hearing you speak like that".

Camille's heart began to race. He was close, very, very close. Her breath hitched in her throat, and she quickly jumped back. She thought she saw Sirius frown for a moment, but when she looked again, he was merely smiling.

"What did you say?" he asked.

It was Camille's turn to smile. Of course, she wasn't going to tell him what she had said. She adopted her most innocent look, and said, "That's for me to know, and you to spend many sleepless nights wondering about".

Sirius blinked, then smiled devilishly, "So it's like that, is it? Well then, keep your secrets Miss Bellegarde," he winked, "But you do look very sexy talking like that, I hope it won't be the last I hear".

Camille was very aware she was most likely as red as a tomato right now, but she didn't care. She and Sirius were flirting without abandon, and Camille was thoroughly enjoying it.

"We'll see," she said, a mysterious smile forming, "Depends on what I get in return".

Sirius made a low, growling noise in his chest, and licked his lips unconsciously, "Whatever over you want, _mon chéri_," Sirius winked again, and stood up. Camille watched him leave, her breath shallow and uneven.

"Oh please, please let him not have listened to a word I just said!"

~*~

Camille was confused. Confused, dazed, annoyed, flattered, happy, sad, angry...almost every emotion imaginable, all at once. Clearly Sirius wanted something from her, she wasn't stupid, what she was confused about was why now? Why, in their last year, had Sirius Black taken a sudden interest in her? She looked no different from last year, she hadn't gone out of her way to talk to him, or get to know him. It seemed that one minute, she and Sirius were almost strangers to each other, the next, they sitting in the library flirting and talking about _her_.

What was even more confusing was that Camille had enjoyed it.

Sirius Black had a reputation, a well known one at that. He was renowned for his ability to woo a girl, go out with her and end things with her in the space of three weeks. And yet, he still had his admirers, though they had dwindled in recent years, but he still had them nonetheless. It had all started back in his second year, when the Marauders had suddenly gone from four friends to four inseparable brothers. Camille wasn't sure what had happened to make them like this, and had never pried, but at around this time, their popularity seemed to double, as did their attention from the girls.

At first it was harmless, no twelve or thirteen year old wants a meaningful relationship, so nothing was thought of it. But as time passed, Sirius became harsher in his break-ups; he would cheat on girlfriends, make up excuses to dump them then be seen with a new girl the next week. He broke many hearts, especially as he got older, and yet, the witches still came flocking.

Luckily, Camille's crush on Sirius happened before all of this, and so she was one of the only girls not affected or sucked in to the charm of Sirius Black. She didn't have a problem with what he did, apart from the times he did it to Mary, Isla and Theresa, but they didn't seem all that bothered anyway. She'd never really given Sirius Black a second thought, but if she was ever asked 'would you go out with him?' her answer was a resolute no. The reason? Sirius was a male whore.

So why now had her opinion changed. Why now, only two weeks into term, did she find herself blushing when he smiled at her, or clumsily drop something when he spoke. Why did she feel queasy when he laughed at something or want to run when he walked towards her? What had changed? That was what Camille was confused about, and why had Sirius chosen her.

She hadn't seen him flirting much since they got back, which was very strange. Usually the lack of girls he experienced during the holidays made him quite eager to spread his charm within the first couple of weeks, but so far, Camille had seen him wink, flirt, smile and use his charm on only one girl; her.

It was too much to think about all at one time, and Camille was beginning to get a headache. Brushing it off, and chastising herself for reading too much into the situation, Camille vowed to strengthen her resolve, and fight off the charms of Sirius Black.

But that was easier said, than done.

Camille always enjoyed going to watch the Gryffindor Quidditch team's tryouts. She was a fan of Quidditch, not a diehard fan like Theresa, but she enjoyed the game. She usually went with Remus, Peter, Theresa and Mary, who went to cheer Sirius and James on; however this year, Camille found herself being joined by Lily Evans and Isla Hudson as well.

"Tell me again why you're coming?" Camille asked as she wrapped a scarf around her neck. The weather had turned cold again, and rather windy.

Lily shrugged, pulling a hat over her head, "I'm Head Girl, it's my duty to oversee any school activities".

Camille exchanged a knowing look with Isla; there was another reason Lily was going, and she was sure it had something with a certain chaser/captain on the team.

"Alright then, Isla?" Camille glanced at the blonde, who blushed a little.

"Don't want to be left out," she mumbled, picking up her gloves and pulling them on. Camille looked between her two friends, and smiled. They were such terrible liars.

"Well we'd better get going, don't want to miss the action," Camille winked at the two, then left the dormitory. At the bottom of the stairs, Remus was waiting for her, wrapped up against the cold. He looked terribly ill, his face was pale and he looked awfully tired.

"Are you sure you don't just want to get some rest?" Camille said worriedly. Remus shook his head, and smiled.

"I'm fine; just have a bit of a cold. Peter and the girls have already gone down; I thought I'd wait here for you".

"Meaning you want to talk to me," Camille grinned and started for the portrait hall, Lily and Isla talking in hushed whispers behind her.

Remus chuckled, "You know me too well. But can you guess what about?"

Camille rolled her eyes, "A certain grey eyed boy with a tendency to be a little...too attracted to the opposite sex?"

Remus laughed, and pushed open the portrait of the fat lady for Camille, "You're certainly perceptive today. So, what's going on between you two? Sirius hasn't shut up about you, it's 'Camille this', and 'Camille that', and 'oh, Camille spoke French to me today, she was so se – mph".

Camille pressed her hand against Remus' mouth, flushing furiously.

"Finish that sentence and you'll never see the light of day again".

Remus chuckled, and gently pushed her arm away, "Alright, alright, just tell me what's going on. I didn't think you were much of a fan of ol' Sirius".

"Neither did I," Camille mumbled, causing Remus to quirk an eyebrow, "We've just been hanging out a bit lately, that's all".

"Every night since Wednesday," Remus smirked as Camille shot him an angry look, "Hey, we're not pranking anyone at the moment, what else am I supposed to do with my time?"

Camille glared at her friend, and shook her head, "Nothing's going on, we're just friends".

"Friends who flirt, blush and grin lovingly at each other," teased Remus. Camille huffed; well aware she was blushing, and shook her head.

"Think what you want Lupin, we're _friends_, nothing more".

Remus held his hands up in his defence, and grinned, "Sorry, I seem to have touched a raw nerve".

Camille rolled her eyes and pushed open a hidden door she knew to be a shortcut, "So...what's he been saying about me?"

"I knew it!" Remus cried triumphantly.

"Oh shut up," Camille snipped, with a hint of a smile, "Just tell me".

Remus grinned, "Just the usual. That he never knew how beautiful you were, that you're really fun to be around, you make him laugh, and 'oh, those eyes'," he trailed off, chuckling. Camille continued to scowl as they exited the castle and made their way to the Quidditch pitch. She glanced being her, Lily and Isla still whispering, and smirked.

"You know who has even prettier eyes?"

"Who?" asked Remus distractedly. He was looking to the sky.

"Isla".

Remus stopped, his face paling a little and his eyes widening. Camille turned, and gave him a pointed look, before laughing loudly, and linking his arm.

~*~

"...Gibbs! Only the beaters use bats!"

James seemed to be at his wits end with his team. In fact, Sirius was sure in a moment, he'd be pulling out hair. The handsome boy chuckled, and sped over to his teammate.

"Need some help, Prongs?"

"Get them off my field before I murder them," hissed James, "Anyone trying out for seeker come on up, chasers, take a break".

Those trying out for the available chasing position grumbled a little, but descended to the ground. The three Gryffindors out for seeker this year rose, and sped towards James.

Down in the stands, Camille, Lily and the others watched the tryouts, occasionally pointing out their favourites or commenting on a particular move they found impressive.

"The turn out isn't too bad this year," Peter commented, "Last year only two people showed up".

"I think it's because James is captain," Isla mused, fiddling with her gloves, "Look at his fan club over there".

"Where!"

The entire group turned to look at Lily, eyeing her strangely. The red head merely shrugged, and turned away, and Camille was sure it was to hide a blush. Odd.

Camille turned back to the game and searched the skies for Sirius. He was hovering near one of the goal posts, waiting for James to release a bludger. He looked rather marvellous on his broom, his face set in concentration, his shaggy hair blowing ever so slightly in the light breeze. Camille's cheeks tinged pink, and she quickly turned away.

"I don't think he saw you staring at him," whispered Remus with a sly grin. Camille shot him a glare, and continued watching the three seekers trying out as they scanned the pitch for any sign of the little golden ball.

Back in the air, Sirius spotted Camille watching the seekers. Grinning to himself, he pulled into a dive, heading straight for them.

"What on earth is Sirius doing!" cried Mary, her eyes widening. Camille turned to see the laughing boy bombing towards them, his face alight with mischief. The girls screamed, and ducked as he sped over their heads, turning sharply and then hovering just above them.

"Padfoot you idiot," Remus snapped, helping a flustered looking Isla up, "Stop showing off".

"Can't help it," Sirius called, staring unabashedly at Camille, "Gotta make myself look good," he winked at Camille, who flushed red, much to her annoyance. Shooting her a cheeky grin, Sirius sped back off into the game, leaving the entire group staring in amusement at Camille.

"What," she said, fighting a grin, "If he wants to make himself look good, he can".

* * *

_A/N: And there is chapter five! I hope you like it :)_

_Now, I'm not French, and my knowledge of the language is based on memory of high school lessons, so I'm afraid an online translation was used. I do hope I didn't butcher such a romantic language too much. Basically, all that was said by Camille was her annoyance of feeling 'butterflies' for Sirius. The other part, well...that may crop up later in the story :)_

_Anyway, as I said, I do hope you enjoy the chapter, and the story as a whole. I've put alot into it, so it makes me feel wonderful when I get feedback, and my dear readers seem to be enjoying it thoroughly, which makes me feel even greater! I know one of two of you said it was extremely mean of Sirius, what he's doing, and I must say, I wholly agree, however, what goes around comes around, so watch out Black! XD! As for whether he'll end up liking her for real...well, if I told you that then there would be no point in reading, would there? :)_

_Of course, a massive thanks to all those who read and reviewed the last chapter, I'm so glad you're all enjoying it, and I haven't had any complaints about spelling or grammar (two of my weaker points), so I'm over the moon!_

_The next chapter will be up soon, so keep reading, reviewing, and I look forward to posting again soon!_

_Happy fan ficcing!_


	6. He's a Marauder

_Disclaimer: See Chapter One._

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Six**

_**He's a Marauder**_

The following Tuesday found Camille and Lily sitting in one of their favourite classes, Defence Against the Dark Arts. Professor Archer was a wizened wizard, strict, but fair, and extremely knowledgeable when it came to defending yourself. Apparently, he had once worked for the Department of Mysteries as an Unspeakable, whether this was true or not, nobody ever knew. He would never tell, after all.

For the first few years of the lesson, Archer had taken a more text book approach to the subject; however, as the students grew older, practical sessions became more and more common, even resulting in a duelling tournament in their sixth year (James and Sirius coming first, with Lily and Remus a close second). Camille had been knocked out of the tournament by Remus, who to this day still apologised profusely for causing her to spend the week in the hospital wing whenever it was brought up. Camille didn't mind, it had been a nice break from things for her.

Right now, however, discussion in the class had turned to the ever present topic of the Unforgivable Curses. Seventh year was really a year of revising everything they had ever learnt, and so, this lesson they were taking notes on the Imperius curse, with the promise that next lesson the students would be practicing them on themselves, a new tactic set by the Ministry to ready the teenagers for life in the outside world. There had been some scepticism as to whether this was a good learning device, however Dumbledore had made it perfectly clear the students were being taught to fight it, not cast it.

So, after finishing their notes and starting on the questions, Camille and Lily decided to have a little break and chat about the upcoming event on everyone's mind; the first Hogsmeade trip of the year.

The reason this particular Hogsmeade visit was so looked forward to? It was the very first of the year; that was why. It revealed who liked who, who was still going out with whom, and who had dumped who, which of course, was just as important a topic than Lord Voldemort himself, to a teenager anyway.

Lily always dreaded Hogsmeade weekends. About a week before them, James would start asking her, sending her gifts and trying desperately to charm his way into her good books in the hopes she would accept. And this year surely wouldn't be any different...would it?

"He hasn't even hinted towards asking me?" Lily whispered, shooting a look to check that Professor Archer was still occupied with one of her fellow students, "I mean, what is he up to?"

Camille set down her quill, and frowned, "Up to? Lils I don't think he's up to anything...maybe he just gave up?"

Much to Camille's surprise, Lily didn't seem all too happy about this. A small frown appeared on her forehead, her lower lip pouting slightly.

"Lily, didn't you hear me? I said James _may_ have given up on you...where's the fan fare...the balloons...the joyful cheering?"

"Ha ha," Lily drawled, "No, he's up to something. Potter _always_ asks me out at least a week before Hogsmeade. He's planning something, I know it".

Camille rolled her eyes, and glanced over to where James and Sirius were floating an ink well just above Slytherin seventh year Laura Thomas' head.

"Really Lils, I don't think he's planning anything, not for you anyway. Like you said, he's changed. Maybe he's going to try a better approach".

Lily seemed to brighten up a little, and nodded.

"Yeah...yeah that must be it. He's still going to ask me out, as bloody usual," she added for good measure. Camille snorted, and shook her head, wondering just how long it would take Lily to admit something Camille had seen coming for quite awhile. The poor girl was clearly in denial.

"What about Sirius," Lily's voice snapped Camille from her musings, "Has he said anything about Hogsmeade?"

Camille flushed a little, "What makes you think he would?"

Now, it was Lily's turn to snort, "Oh come off it, anyone with eyes can see he's after you. Plus, if I'm correct, you two have been spending some cosy nights in the library...I didn't even think Sirius _knew_ where the library was".

"Shut up," Camille hissed with a slight smile, "Lils, we're just friends, alright. Nothing more, nothing less".

Lily rolled her eyes and turned back to her work, "Sure, whatever you say Millie".

Across the room, James carefully pointed his wand, tipping the ink in the ink pot ever so slightly over Laura Thomas' head. The black ink seeped into her wispy brown hair, unbeknownst to her or Evan Rosier who was sitting beside her.

"So how're things with Lilyflower?" Sirius asked as James floated the ink pot back over to the desk.

"Alright," he shrugged, "I haven't mentioned Hogsmeade yet, I think I'll ask her at tomorrow's prefect meeting".

"Well, no matter how you go about this, she won't say yes. You'll lose the bet".

Sirius chuckled, twirling his quill in his hand. He hadn't bothered taking any notes; he already knew everything there was to know about the Imperius curse anyway.

"What about you and Camille? Still adamant she'll fall in love with you?" James smirked.

Sirius didn't look worried, "Of course. In fact, I have quite a surprise in store for Miss Bellegarde. There's no way she'll be able to say no".

James rolled his eyes, and scanned the room for something to do, looking thoroughly bored.

"When's the next full moon?" he asked quietly.

Sirius, who was doodling on his parchment, shrugged.

"I think it's the twenty sixth, Moony's got it marked on his calendar".

James nodded, "Weekday, that'll be fun. I'll have to make sure me and Moony don't have patrol, actually".

Sirius' head shot up, his eye lighting up as they normally did when he had an idea.

"I'll cover for Moony the night before; you know how he likes to spend the night before a full moon with Poppy. Pair me with Camille!"

James snorted, "I'm not helping you win this bet, _I_ want to win, remember".

Sirius pouted, putting on his best 'puppy dog' face, "Please, Prongs. I thought we were friends!"

James laughed, punching Sirius in the arm, "No, I'm not losing thirty galleons to _you_. Do your own dirty work...in fact; I think I'll pair Camille with Lily that night, so you can't work your magic".

"Weak joke, Prongsie," snapped Sirius, "Why am I friends with you?"

James shrugged, scrunching his parchment into a ball, "Cause you love me," he tossed the paper ball across the room, hitting Snape firmly in the back of the head.

"Piss off, filth," the greasy haired boy sneered.

"Ooooooo," James and Sirius mocked in high voices, before doubling up with laughter.

~*~

"I need to talk to you".

Camille felt her arm being tugged, and allowed whoever it was to pull her into an empty classroom. Turning around, she saw it was James, looking slightly anxious.

"Yes James?" she asked.

James smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I...uhh...I want to ask Lily to Hogsmeade...but...I want her to say yes too".

Camille quirked an eyebrow, "Asking for a bit much there, aren't you Potter?"

James rolled his eyes, and collapsed into one of the chairs behind him.

"You're her best friend, how can I get her to go out with me?"

Camille leant against one of the stone walls, examining her finger nails interestedly, "Depends on what's in it for me," she shot him a sly grin.

"My undying adoration and everlasting friendship?" James said brightly. Camille snorted.

"Don't ask her, not yet anyway".

James frowned, "But...why?"

Camille exhaled loudly, and took a seat next to James, folding her hands in her lap.

"I have reason to believe Lily likes you, James," she held her hand up to silence James, who looked ready to kiss Camille, "But, you need to give it time. She's hated you for nigh on six years now, and three weeks of acting mature isn't good enough to change her mind, though you _are_ changing it".

"So...what should I do?" James asked, though he didn't look too happy about the plan. Camille offered a reassuring smile.

"Go with her as a group, I know Theresa was planning on asking you lot to come with the girls anyway. Be her friend, James. Keep the arrogance to a bare minimum, and try to act mature. I dunno what you've been like around Lily, but its working. The lack of pranks and hexing are paying off too".

"Really? You think I have a chance?"

He looked so hopeful; it almost broke Camille's heart. She nodded, barely suppressing her grin.

"You have more of a chance than you did last year, trust me, keep doing what you're doing, and she'll say yes. Just don't ask her to go with you, wait until the next one, alright?"

"Right," James stood up, ruffling his hair, "Keep on this track. She'll see I'm good for her, she'll say yes," he turned to Camille, "You're alright Bellegarde, you know that".

Camille chuckled, and stood up too, "So I've heard. And James, I am rooting for the two of you, I think you and Lily would be perfect together".

Camille was confused to see a rather guilty look creep into James' eyes. In response, he merely nodded, and offered a weak smile. Thinking nothing of it, Camille crossed the room, glanced out into the corridor, then slipped out, hoping her meetings with James in empty classrooms weren't misinterpreted.

Camille finally caught up with Lily heading into the Great Hall for lunch.

"Where'd you disappear to," she asked, leading her friend to the Gryffindor table. Camille shrugged.

"Left my quill back in the classroom, where's Isla and the others?"

"Mary and Theresa went to the loo and Isla said something about the library," Lily replied absently, flopping down in a seat and pulling everything in reach towards her.

"Hungry?" Camille observed.

Lily nodded, "I have patrol tonight, so I'm gonna have to skip dinner to do my homework".

"I'll bring you something," Camille assured, ladling soup into a bowl for herself, "Are you patrolling with James again?"

Lily nodded, but didn't speak. Camille merely shook her head, and watched as James, Sirius and Peter entered the Great Hall, talking loudly amongst themselves. They took seats opposite Camille and Lily, James winking at Camille as he pulled a plate of chicken pie towards him.

"All set for patrol tonight, Lily?" he asked conversationally. Camille pressed her lips together, biting back a smile. Lily glanced up from her meal, and nodded, a strange look creeping into her eyes.

"Good, oh by the way, I hope you don't mind, but I need the twenty sixth off. I wanna get the team together and go over some plays before the first match," James adopted his most charming smile, and waited for Lily to respond. Lily set down her fork, and nodded.

"Alright, James," she paused, "Is there anything else you wanted to ask?"

James looked as though her were pondering this, his eyes darting towards Camille.

"No, I think that's it. Nothing else coming up that involves me and you, anyway".

James grinned again, and began shovelling down his food. Beside him, Sirius and Peter were having a rather heated discussion about the rumour whether the bloody Baron and the Ravenclaw ghost were having an affair.

"Ghost's can't do stuff like that," Peter protested, his plate of stew untouched for once.

Sirius shook his head with a cocky grin, "And how would you know? Been spying on them, Wormtail. I didn't know you were into that stuff".

Peter reddened a little, but his face remained defiant, "I'm telling you, ghosts can't have...you know, _that_".

"Sex, Wormtail, is the word I believe you are looking for," smirked Sirius. Camille rolled her eyes, and glanced back at Lily, who looked stunned beyond words.

"Lily Evans, you prude," teased Camille.

Lily started, and shot a confused look towards Camille.

"What are you on about?"

Camille rolled her eyes and returned to her meal, "Nothing, you just seemed a little shocked".

"Can you blame me," Lily muttered darkly. Camille quirked an eyebrow, but said nothing more. She already had a good idea what was going on anyway.

~*~

At the end of the school day, Camille found herself thoroughly exhausted. The professors had made it quite clear their final year would be the toughest of them all, Camille was sure she'd never finished the endless piles of essays she'd been assigned. Because Lily was on patrol tonight, and Isla was off doing god knows what, Camille, Theresa and Mary decided to spend the evening taking a break from the mountain of homework to spend some relaxation time in the common room.

Sitting in their favourite armchairs near one of the common room windows, the girls passed the time gossiping about various things, playing wizards chess or the occasional game of exploding snap. The girls looked up as the portrait hole opened, and a rather flustered looking Isla clambered through.

"Long time, no see," commented Mary, pushing out a chair for the exhausted looking blonde, "Where have you been lately?"

Isla jumped a little, and shook her head, "Nowhere important, please tell me we aren't studying".

Camille shook her head, "Taking a break, I don't think I can handle much more homework, and it's only been three weeks!"

"It's only going to get worse," Theresa predicted darkly.

Mary rolled her eyes, "Thanks for that Theresa, as if we need reminding, so," she turned clapped her hands together, "Do we all have dates for Saturday?"

The three other girls shook their heads in unison, and Mary gaped.

"Honestly? You realise we only have four days, right?"

"Yes Mary, we do know the days of the week," sniggered Theresa, "No one's asked me yet, so I asked James and the lads if they wanted to tag along with us".

Mary snapped her mouth shut, and huffed, "Who am I supposed to gossip with now? Potter had better bloody manage to woo Lils before Saturday; I'm not being the only one without a date".

Camille rolled her eyes, tilting her chair a little, "Hardly a date if he's already your boyfriend, besides, we can never get a word in edge ways when you bang on about your dates".

Isla and Theresa chuckled, and Mary tossed chocolate frog at her friend.

The laughing stopped when three more students entered the common room, laughing a joking with one another. The three boys took seats on the chairs surrounding the fire, and began to talk in hushed whispers.

"Wonder what they're planning?" Mary mused thoughtfully.

Isla shot a furtive glanced towards the boys, "They haven't pulled a prank since they got back, I'm beginning to worry a little".

"Sirius says it's because James doesn't want to upset Lily, and that they can't pull a prank without all four there," Camille said without realising. She blushed slightly at the knowing grins on her friend's faces.

"Sirius says, eh? My my, we are getting close, aren't we," teased Theresa.

"Sod off," Camille snapped, though was unable to hide her grin. She liked to think they were getting close, anyway, despite her best efforts to convince herself she did _not_ like Sirius Black in anything more than a platonic sense.

The girls stopped laughing as they noticed a rather pale looking Peter Pettigrew making his way slowly towards the group of girls.

Peter stopped next to Theresa, nervously wringing his hands together. The blonde girl shot another confused look towards her friends, then turned back to Peter.

"Hi Peter, you want something?"

Peter squeaked a little, his face reddening considerably. He cleared his throat, and Camille bit her lip, realising what was surely going on.

"Uhh...I...well, I was wondering....maybe...if you wanted to....you know, go to Hogsmeade with....uhh...well, with me, actually...I uhh..." Peter glanced back at Remus and Sirius, who were watching with half amused, half hopeful expression.

Theresa looked rather shocked, Camille noticed, as did Mary and Isla. Peter had never given any hint that he may have liked Theresa. Theresa closed her mouth, which was hanging open slackly, and managed to find her voice.

"I...uhhh..." she glanced at the girls, who were watching expectantly, "Actually, yes. Yes Peter, I'd love to go with you".

Peter looked positively faint. He swayed slightly, as if not quite believing what he was hearing. The girls stifled a chuckle, and Theresa gently laid a hand on his arm.

"Are you alright, Pete?"

"I'm fine," he replied in a squeaky voice, "Fine, perfectly fine...see you at Hogsmeade," and with that, the small boy scurried back over to his friends, who were clapping him on the back and congratulating him.

Theresa turned back to her friends with a happy smile plastered across her face. Mary was the first one to speak.

"You never told me you liked Peter!" she cried to her best friend, "When?"

Theresa shrugged, "He's different from all the other guys I've gone out with. He's sweet, and really nice, and funny".

Mary gaped at her friend, "No offence Theresa, but compared to your past conquests...well....Peter isn't exactly...well...you know..." she trailed off, frowning.

Theresa merely smiled, "He may not be the best looking, but looks aren't everything. Look at Billy, yeah he was good looking, but look what he did!"

Camille felt a wave of pride rush through her at these words. Theresa was right, looks weren't everything. Sadness crept through her, and she shot a glance at Sirius.

"I guess," Mary started, "Oh forget it, I'm happy for you. Peter's fun, _and_ he's a Marauder, Billy'll go mental when he finds out!"

Theresa nodded excitedly, "Oh, I'm really glad I said yes, Peter really is lovely!"

"You'll have a great time," Isla assured her friend, "Well, one down, two to go".

Camille chuckled, "And who are you hoping will ask you out, Isla?"

Isla shrugged, her eyes flickering towards the boys, "Actually, I reckon I'll just spend the day with Lils...do you think the boys will still come now that Theresa is all loved up".

Theresa smacked her friend playfully on the arm, "Course he will, Potter wouldn't miss a chance to win over Miss Evans".

"What about you, Camille, are you tagging along with us?" Isla turned to her dark haired friend, who was still staring at the boys.

"What? Oh, yeah...looks like it. Should be fun".

Theresa, Mary and Isla exchanged knowing smirks, then began chatting about what Mary and Theresa would plan for their dates. Camille continued to ponder Theresa's words. Looks weren't everything, of course she knew that, but could she deny it when the personality seemed to be just as good as the looks?

~*~

Wednesday came, and Camille was delighted to find that she had the morning off. Though, because she and the girls had slacked off considerably the previous night, she was still required to get up early and get a start on her homework.

However, this morning was _not_ going to be a normal morning; Camille realised this from the moment she awoke, and spotted the red rose petals scattered lightly over her bed.

"What the..." Camille climbed out of bed, staring incredulously at the flower petals. What on Earth was going on?

"Oh Camille! Who did this!?"

Camille spun around to see Isla and Theresa gaping at the rose petals, their eyes alight with excitement. Camille shrugged, her own eyes still wide with disbelief. She reached down, and picked up one of the petals, marvelling in the soft texture.

"Bloody hell, someone's taken a fancy to you!" Mary pulled back her hangings and stumbled out of bed. The noise awoke Lily, who eyed the bed with a knowing look which fortunately, the other girls missed.

"Is there a card, or a letter?" Isla asked, picking up a handful of petals and tossing them at Theresa.

Camille was about to answer when Mary prodded her, "Look, there's a bunch on your nightstand".

Camille's gaze snapped to her nightstand, where a bunch of red and white roses stood. Tentatively, she walked over to the flowers, and picked them up, a small smile creeping onto her face.

"Well?" pressed Theresa, "Who's all this from?"

Camille pulled a small white card out of the blooms, and opened it.

_Mon Chéri,_

_Would you do me the absolute pleasure of accompanying me to Hogsmeade this weekend?_

"Well?"

Camille turned to her friends, a broad smile plastered across her face.

"Who do you think would come up with something as over the top and cheesy as this?" she smirked. The girls frowned, then broke into identical smirks.

"Sirius Black," they said as one.

After hurriedly readying themselves, Camille and the girls raced down the stairs to the common room, where they expected to find Sirius waiting to hear Camille's answer. The girls had begged, pleaded and threatened Camille to tell them her answer, but she simply said they would know when Sirius knew.

Slightly put out, Theresa declared he must be at breakfast, so she, Mary and Isla barrelled out of the common room as fast as they possibly could, leaving an amused Lily and Camille in their wake.

"You know it's strange, I was under the impression boys couldn't get into the girls dormitories," Camille commented as the two friends made their way down to the Great Hall at a much leisurely pace.

Lily fidgeted next to Camille, "Yeah, strange".

Camille rolled her eyes, "You put the petals there for Sirius, didn't you?"

Lily stopped biting her lip and just managing to hold off a grin, "And what if I did?"

"You're meddling in my love life," Camille huffed, crossing her arms. Lily laughed, and linked an arm through Camille's, "Yes, seems there's a lot of that going on lately".

Camille paled, and chuckled nervously, "Yeah...I guess".

Lily rolled her eyes, and quickened her pace, "Come on, I want to see what you're answer is, even though I can already tell".

Camille giggled, blushing a little, "You know me too well Evans".

"Not as well as I know you, Bellegarde".

When Lily and Camille finally entered the Great Hall, they spotted Mary and Theresa berating Sirius, who was already seated with James, Remus and Peter. Camille noticed Isla and Remus talking quietly, whilst Peter was looking adoringly at an otherwise oblivious Theresa. James, it seemed, didn't look too happy.

"There she is!" cried Mary, shoving Theresa out of the way and running up to her friend, "Sirius is waiting!"

Camille quirked an eyebrow, and allowed Mary to pull her over to Sirius. Camille was very aware that several people in the hall were watching with interested looks, and fought the blush creeping into her face.

Mary sat Camille down next to Sirius, who shot her a charming grin. He turned in his seat to face her, and leant towards her.

"Did you like the roses?" he asked quietly, so Mary and the others had to strain to hear. Camille shot her friends a reproachful look, then turned back to Sirius.

"They were beautiful, thank you".

Sirius nodded, and grinned, "And, do you have an answer?"

Camille nodded, her own smile growing larger. She fought the urge to laugh when she realised all of her friends were watching with bated breath.

"And?" Sirius continued softly.

Camille bit her lip, then grinned.

"Yes, Sirius. I'd love to go with you".

* * *

_A/N: And there's chapter six :)_

_I'm terribly sorry for the wait, I think it's been over a month! But, with it being the christmas season, I've been unbelievably busy, and getting to the computer is a rarity. That said, I do hope this chapter was worth the wait. Thing's are heating up between Mr Black and Ms Bellegarde, shame it's for the wrong reasons eh?_

_Thank you to all of my dear readers for reviewing and reading the last chapter, and continuing to read the story. It makes me so very happy to see people have taken the time to read something I'm putting so much effort into, so thank you very, very much._

_Now, this is the last chapter of 2008. So, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas. I hope you all have a wonderful day, and I hope Santa is good to you all. And, of course, have a brilliant New Year. Don't get too drunk ;), and may 2009 and bring you all the happiness you deserve._

_Until 09, have a good one guys :)_


End file.
